Facility Detail

Fortech Microabrasivos S.A.
Cartago, Cartago, Costa Rica

This facility, “Tejar del Guarco”, or Facility #3, located in a 7,000 square foot leased building, has e-waste disassembly for recycling and plastic grinding (ground plastic is used by a nearby injection molding company to make knobs). Workers perform manual disassembly of e-waste components, including printers, CPUs, monitors, and various other devices. Batteries are removed and stored in drums for transfer to facilities. Plastic parts with all metal removed are ground in a small grinding unit onsite; ground plastic is normally sent to a local injection molding company. Other separated components (cables, hard drives, mother boards, various other circuit boards, CD and DVD drives, microchips and processors, etc.) are evaluated for potential re-use (refurbishment) or material recovery, and packaged in Gaylord cubic-yard boxes for transfer to various facilities. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are removed intact and ultimately sent to for recycling in the U.S.

The other two facilities are the Cartago Industrial Park facility (corporate office), located on a company-owned parcel in the Zeta Free Zone, which performs chemical blending, contract plating, and electrowinning operations (the company began as a specialty chemical supplier, and later added plating and electrowinning), while the third facility, known as the “Lima de Cartago” facility or Facility #2, has e-waste disassembly, fluorescent tube storage and crushing, and solvent distillation