Electronic waste (e-waste) is the fasting growing waste stream in the world. According to the EPA, not even 16% (by weight) of e-waste is recycled. Groundwater contamination and airborne pollutants are only some of the dangers associated with dumping e-waste in landfills. Due to a lack environmental regulation in the United States and the high cost of recycling e-waste (companies have to pay dispose of broken equipment), many companies opt for the less expensive option: shipping their e-waste overseas to dump in developing nations.

RECYCLA is an e-waste recycling company in Santiago with a goal to expand their business and process 50% of the e-waste in Chile. Besides the environmental benefits to expanding their services, RECYCLA will also hire more workers from a local prison to help reintegrate criminals back into society. My part in this project will be to devise a new factory layout to allow RECYCLA to expand efficiently and effectively and provide a model for processing e-waste.