Scientists Turn Used LCDs Into Medicine

schliz writes "Scientists from the University of York have come up with a new recycling technique that extracts PVA from used LCD panels to create a 'a bioactive sponge.' The technique could allow recovered PVA to be used in pills, wound dressings and tissue scaffolds that aid human tissue regeneration. It could also keep waste LCD screens from incineration or landfill altogether."

Re:What?

[Red Flayer]

I know it's anathema to some, but please RTFA. There's a qualifier in TFA that submitter left out (emphasis mine):

Coupled with current recycling methods, the technique could entirely prevent old LCD TVs, laptops and computer monitors from being incinerated or added to landfills.

For some snark: That's mostly because current recycling methods are largely composed of shipping the parts to third-world countries where they burn them (NOT in an incinerator) to extract heavy metals.

Seriously, though, if this process does truly result in a significant market for recycling process outputs, it could help make recycling old monitors economically sound. I suspect, however, that it will still be cheaper to make the PVA byproduct from scratch, and ship monitors to developing nations for scrapping.