Tech trash – consisting mainly of used computers, cell phones, televisions and other hi-tech gadgets -- is quickly becoming a problem not only in the United States, but all over the world. Each year consumers purchase new toys and most throw out the old ones, either to be disposed of in landfills -- a practice becoming more and more frowned upon and restricted -- or sent to recycling centers where the valuable metals can be separated and the harmful constituents disposed of properly.

Of course, as DailyTech has reported previously, this recycling doesn't always happen the way it should. Hundreds of thousands of tons of poisonous tech trash ends up overseas where workers are paid little to harvest valuable metals while being exposed to harmful chemicals.

As it turns out, China is one of the largest recipients of this unwanted trash. However, a new study outlines the use of several components of the ubiquitous circuit board in a rather unusual place:  paving asphalt. Zhenming Xu and his team of researchers based in China have been experimenting with using the discarded tech trash to strengthen asphalt and have developed a new recycling technique that separates the harmful materials, which often include mercury and cyanide, from the actual useful product, the PCB.

After the separation process occurs, what remains is a fine, non-metallic powder of glass fibers and resin. Xu's group experimented with the powder, adding it to normal asphalt and found that with the right mixture and particle size, the asphalt was not only strengthened dramatically, but much less likely to suffer malleability at high temperatures.

While tech trash continues to pile up, creating health hazards and taking up valuable space in landfills, more pioneers like Xu and his colleagues may pop up with ways to use the discarded electronics in a practical manner. As the consumption of gadgetry increases and costs continue to plummet, electronic trash will become more and more of a problem. Proper recycling and reuse will be the key to fighting the deluge in the future.