And while tech companies have taken steps to extract and recycle that gold for years, much of it still ends up in landfills. The Flinders University researchers took a different approach. The researchers say they are currently working with mining and e-waste recycling companies to test the process on a larger scale. “We dived into a mound of e-waste and climbed out with a block of gold!” Flinders University research associate and paper co-author Harshal Patel said in a statement. Most major cities have certified e-waste recycling centers that accept large quantities of discarded electronics.