News on the scaling up of e-plastics to supply North American OEMs, vapes contributing to a record number of facility fires, what new PCs mean for ITAD providers in the years ahead, server resale values as AI advances, and a Call2Recycle battery recycling rebrand were the biggest news in January. Catch up on these stories below:
1 | URT builds alliance to remake electronics plastics at scale
Universal Recycling Technologies launched its NEXLOOP platform and Polymers Alliance to return plastics from end-of-life electronics to OEM manufacturing in North America.
2 | January fire data drives shift in recycling safety
A new industry guide addresses rising lithium-ion battery fires at recycling facilities as data shows a record 448 reported incidents in 2025, underscoring growing risks from consumer electronics and disposable vapes and prompting calls for coordinated safety practices.
3 | From CES to the shredder: What 2026 PCs mean for ITAD
Some of the most operationally relevant CES 2026 announcements for the e-scrap sector focused less on peak performance and more on serviceability.
4 | Server resale values surge in AI-driven markets
Server resale values jumped sharply in 2025 as AI infrastructure demand tightened supply, reshaping secondary IT markets and boosting returns for refurbished enterprise hardware.
5 | Call2Recycle rebrand signals broader role in US recycling
The organization, now called The Battery Network, is assuming an expanded role in battery logistics, EPR compliance and critical material recovery as US battery demand accelerates.
