Dell and Nikki Reed to harvest gold from old laptops for new jewellery line

Computer giant Dell and actress, entrepreneur and activist Nikki Reed have announced a jewellery collaboration in support of the sustainable design movement.

The ‘Circular Collection’ by Bayou with Love and Dell is a new, limited edition jewellery collection made in the US and sourced from gold recovered from Dell’s recycling programmes.

The collection, which includes 14 and 18-carat gold rings, earrings and cufflinks, will be showcased at this year’s 2018 Consumer Electronics Show to highlight the widespread impact that e-waste, or disposable electronic equipment, has on the environment.

Reed, co-founder of Bayou with Love, said: “Bayou with Love was created to bring greater awareness to the human impact on our planet and show that beautiful items can come from sustainably sourced and recycled materials.

“By recycling gold that was once considered ‘waste’ Dell and I are working to create an environment where we continuously reuse resources and strive for zero waste.”

Using an environmentally responsible extraction process, the used electronics are broken down into individual components by Dell’s environmental partner, Wistron GreenTech. Gold from the motherboards is then recycled into new computer motherboards as part of Dell’s closed loop supply chain or upcycled into other products.

“At Dell, we pride ourselves in finding better, more efficient ways to do business particularly throughout our supply chain,” said Jeff Clarke, Dell vice chairman.

“When you think about the fact that there is up to 800 times more gold in a ton of motherboards than a ton of ore from the earth, you start to realise the enormous opportunity we have to put valuable materials to work.

“Nikki Reed gets that and so do we. It takes constantly thinking outside of the box and pushing the boundaries of innovation to solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.”

The collaboration with Reed extends from the company’s widespread efforts to find innovative ways to create value from waste. As part of Dell’s Legacy of Good Program, the company has pledged to recycle 100 million pounds of recycled content into its product portfolio by 2020.