more often we replace devices, the gratst apple's profit. it's true of all companies. it's essentially when it comes to electronics, a garbage economy, relying on us to discard smart phones and computers, that's how most take companies like it. they are turning tech garbage into gold. they come at a cost. >> electronic recyclers pick up about 113,000 pounds of e-waste every week in new york city. it's a fraction of computers, tvs and other electronics, that end up in houseslike this where they are started or disguarded. up to 90% of 41 million tonnes of e-waste is illegally dumped. a lot of it end up in land fills in asia and africa where urban miners extract some metals. what is buried and lost are the rare earth elements. they are found in devices like ear buds fluorescent lights and speakers. researchers at the aims laboratory is trying to find ways to replace rare earthments and use them more efficiently, and say the reason they are not recycled comes down to cost. >> what you get from a mine costs money, and it's reflective of the cost of producing it. the cost of