Back to Top

Author Archives: Antoinette Smith

About Antoinette Smith

Antoinette Smith started working for Resource Recycling in June 2024 after spending several years covering commodity plastics and supply chains, with a special focus on economic impacts. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Panelists: E-plastics have untapped potential

Published: October 17, 2024
Updated:

by

Panelists at the 2024 E-Scrap Conference provided insight into issues facing e-plastics, and their views on what lies ahead. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling

With domestic demand building slowly, U.S. processors must look to industries outside electronics manufacturing to absorb their e-plastics volumes, according to panelists at the recent E-Scrap Conference in Orlando. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , , |

Experts offer roadmap for e-scrap trade, investment

Published: September 30, 2024
Updated:

by
Obsolete electronics gathered for recycling.

The World Economic Fund has compiled the opinions of five experts on how trade and investment can facilitate circular electronics. | Penofoto/Shutterstock

Coordinated global action is imperative to extend the life of electronics and improve end-of-life treatment, according to five industry experts in a recent World Economic Fund article. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged , |

Battery industry prepares for shift in regulation

Published: September 30, 2024
Updated:

by
E.U. flags in front of the European Commission building.

The EU will roll out Digital Product Passports in 2027, to provide a clear accounting of the life cycle of batteries and eventually many other items. | Giannis Papanikos/Shutterstock

Although the European Union is still several years away from implementing its inaugural Digital Product Passport regulations, e-scrap market participants who do business with Europe are preparing for this new phase in sustainability regulations.

Continue Reading

URT, Hanil join forces to meet Basel standards

Published: September 19, 2024
Updated:

by

The companies, based in Wisconsin and California, are leveraging their strengths to produce Basel-compliant recycled e-plastics. | KPixMining/Shutterstock

Wisconsin-based Universal Recycling Technologies and California’s Hanil Eco Solutions are combining their expertise to achieve Basel Convention compliance in e-plastics recycling, the companies announced this week. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged |

Q&A: Recycling needs heat. Kraftblock offers a solution

Published: September 6, 2024
Updated:

by

Germany’s Kraftblock develops storage systems to capture waste heat from heat-intensive processes including e-scrap recycling. | Courtesy of Kraftblock

Despite its value in the sustainability sphere, recycling e-scrap is heat- and energy-intensive. Germany-headquartered Kraftblock says the electronics recycling industry needs physical solutions to decarbonize its heat and energy use.  Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories |

Investment firm acquires Phoenix-based recycler

Published: August 14, 2024
Updated:

by
Solar array in field.

Global Electronics Recycling brings experience handling solar panels to Tide Rock’s existing portfolio company, Full Circle Electronics. | lccarvalho/Shutterstock

Private equity firm Tide Rock Holdings has acquired Phoenix-based Global Electronics Recycling. The acquisition will help add customers in the aerospace and defense sectors as GER integrates with previous acquisition Full Circle Electronics, the latter company’s CEO said in an interview. 

Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged , |

Colt Recycling expands with new Texas site

Published: August 8, 2024
Updated:

by

The June 2023 acquisition by global metals company Elemental paved the way for Colt Recycling’s fourth U.S. site, and CEO Jim Maher expects the affiliation to help gain share in the large Texas market. | Courtesy of Colt Recycling

New Hampshire-headquartered Colt Recycling is in the process of starting up its fourth electronics processing facility, located in San Marcos, Texas. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged |

S3 brings Tennessee culture to California acquisition

Published: August 1, 2024
Updated:

by

Tennessee-based S3 Recycling Solutions recently acquired a Los Angeles-area medical asset disposition company, part of a five-year strategy to manage rapid growth. | Photo Courtesy of S3

S3 Recycling Solutions recently acquired its first location outside of its home state of Tennessee, and plans to make more acquisitions in the next few years to complement the company’s organic growth. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged |

Refurbishers urge FCC to give phone locks a closer look

Published: August 1, 2024
Updated:

by
Mobile phone with several locks.

A group of e-scrap companies and organizations recommended the FCC create a system in which donated phones can be checked for theft, and then unlocked to enable reuse. | Wk1003mike/Shutterstock

In response to a Federal Communications Commission request for comment on its new phone carrier unlocking rule, e-scrap industry members urged the agency to address a different kind of software locks that prevent reuse. Continue Reading