“How long can a reusable chip run a sign?” I ask. “Hard to say,” Henry answers. “Maybe fifteen years.” That’s better than shredding and recycling, it seems to me. For Guiyu’s traders, according to Henry, it’s the reuse value, and not the scrap metal and plastic value, that really drive profitability. Think of it this way: Guiyu’s processors buy old phones by the ton, and prices might range as low as a penny or two for a device that contains perhaps a few pennies’ worth of gold, copper, and plastic. But if, as Henry implies, an old phone contains a chip that can be resold to a manufacturer of
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