So what do you do with all that unused, outdated computer equipment lying around your house? For jewelry designers Jacob and Michelle Fausset of Upcycled Jewelry, the answer is pretty simple, turn it into jewelry. Jacob and Michelle Fausset have introduced Upcycled Jewelry, a line of jewelry made from circuit boards found in salvaged electronics. The company makes a stunning variety of earrings and necklaces.

As the owners of a small business that manages foreclosed properties, every month the company accumulates nearly 5,000 pounds of trash. The trash is then separated and recycled when possible, but once the electronics are taken apart and recycled if not in usable shape, the circuit boards are often left over.

This led to the couple starting a business to put all those leftover circuit boards to good use. Enter Upcyled Jewelry, a line of funky yet elegant handmade jewelry that finds a use for what would normally be thrown in the trash.

Is the Jewelry Safe?

According to the owners, Upcycled uses RoHS compliant circuit boards which do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, etc. In addition, when preparing the jewelry it's stripped down to the fiber core and the copper plated veneer eliminating the majority of all contaminants, if any additional are present. After buffing and polishing it's coated with acrylic coating that conforms to ASTM D-4236 standards. However, as a final step the makers will be instituting lead testing to ensure that the jewelry is lead-free.

Here's what the creators of Upcycled Jewelry have to say about their work:

I own and operate a business that manages bank owned or foreclosed properties. This involves re-keying houses, re-glazing broken windows or fixing kicked in doors, all things that a vacant property needs. At times though a total clean out is called for. In a given month I can accumulate over 5,000 pounds of garbage needing to be hauled to a landfill. (And I am a very small operation). Every ounce of metal I separate to be recycled. All electronics, like computers, faxes, etc., are taken apart and recycled if not in useable shape. It is very surprising what people will work so hard to attain, only to abuse and leave for someone else to clean up. I try my best to lessen the impact on our world and our community.

www.upcyclejewelry.com

So what do you do with all that unused, outdated computer equipment lying around your house? For jewelry designers Jacob and Michelle Fausset of Upcycled Jewelry, the answer is pretty simple, turn it into jewelry. Jacob and Michelle Fausset have introduced Upcycled Jewelry, a line of jewelry made from circuit boards found in salvaged electronics. The company makes a stunning variety of earrings and necklaces.

As the owners of a small business that manages foreclosed properties, every month the company accumulates nearly 5,000 pounds of trash. The trash is then separated and recycled when possible, but once the electronics are taken apart and recycled if not in usable shape, the circuit boards are often left over.

This led to the couple starting a business to put all those leftover circuit boards to good use. Enter Upcyled Jewelry, a line of funky yet elegant handmade jewelry that finds a use for what would normally be thrown in the trash.

Is the Jewelry Safe?

According to the owners, Upcycled uses RoHS compliant circuit boards which do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, etc. In addition, when preparing the jewelry it's stripped down to the fiber core and the copper plated veneer eliminating the majority of all contaminants, if any additional are present. After buffing and polishing it's coated with acrylic coating that conforms to ASTM D-4236 standards. However, as a final step the makers will be instituting lead testing to ensure that the jewelry is lead-free.

Here's what the creators of Upcycled Jewelry have to say about their work:

I own and operate a business that manages bank owned or foreclosed properties. This involves re-keying houses, re-glazing broken windows or fixing kicked in doors, all things that a vacant property needs. At times though a total clean out is called for. In a given month I can accumulate over 5,000 pounds of garbage needing to be hauled to a landfill. (And I am a very small operation). Every ounce of metal I separate to be recycled. All electronics, like computers, faxes, etc., are taken apart and recycled if not in useable shape. It is very surprising what people will work so hard to attain, only to abuse and leave for someone else to clean up. I try my best to lessen the impact on our world and our community.

www.upcyclejewelry.com