Major electronics manufacturers joined with the Consumer Technology Association to form the Consumer Technology Circularity Initiative | Olga Miltsova/Shutterstock
Recycling technologies targeting batteries and rare earth magnets drew reader attention last month, as did coverage of an ITAD acquisition and a new e-scrap initiative from device manufacturers.
The list below shows our top stories published in January in terms of unique page views.
1 | Firms develop battery-in-device processing system
Sending battery-containing devices through the shredder is typically a no-no for several reasons, but manually removing and taping batteries prior to shredding the rest of the device is labor intensive. A newly unveiled processing system addresses the conundrum.
2 | OEMs launch new e-scrap and reuse effort
Major electronics manufacturers this week joined with the Consumer Technology Association to form the Consumer Technology Circularity Initiative, aiming to boost e-scrap processing, improve repair and reuse, and incorporate more recycled content into products.
3 | Canadian facility scales up rare earth magnet recycling
Ontario-headquartered Cyclic Materials is actively sourcing hard disks from ITAD firms for its magnet extraction and rare earth processing operations. The company is planning to expand with multiple facilities in the U.S. and Canada in the coming years.
4 | Sprout acquires assets of Oklahoma City-based CircleIT
Fast-growing processor Sprout late last year purchased key assets of CircleIT, a longtime processor previously known as HiTech Assets. A Sprout executive said CircleIT’s platform for tracking and reporting sustainability metrics to clients helped drive the deal.
5 | Ecobat entering US lithium-ion recycling sector
Lead battery recycler Ecobat’s first U.S. facility for recycling lithium batteries is being commissioned, and the company is already looking at what comes next.