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Author Archives: Colin Staub

About Colin Staub

Colin-StaubColin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Project brings rare earth recovery into e-scrap facility

Published: July 10, 2025
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Project stakeholders tour RecycleForce in May, observing an on-site rare earth recovery system built around acid-free dissolution technology. | Photo courtesy RecycleForce

Editor’s Note: Learn more in person – RecycleForce and Ames National Lab will speak about the rare earth recovery project during a plenary session at the 2025 E-Scrap Conference, set for Oct. 27-29 in Grapevine, Texas.

A pilot project is demonstrating a bolt-on modular system that could make it logistically and economically feasible for e-scrap processors to recover rare earth elements from end-of-life electronics within their existing facilities. Continue Reading

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Petition calls for certification action after ITAD device theft

Published: July 3, 2025
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Laptops gathered for repair or recycling.

The petition centers on device theft that occurred during IT asset disposition jobs in the Washington, D.C. area in 2022 and 2023. | ThamKC/Shutterstock

A petition is gathering signatures to compel the e-Stewards, i-SIGMA and R2 certifications to publicly address and investigate an IT asset disposition-connected data breach that came to light early this year. All three certifications responded in statements to E-Scrap News. Continue Reading

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Basel e-scrap rules disrupt larger metal sector

Published: June 26, 2025
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Cargo containers stacked at a shipping terminal.

Although the 2025 Basel Convention changes were confined to e-scrap materials, a wider range of scrap metal exports to Thailand have gotten caught up in the fray. | Mayday6510/Shutterstock

In Thailand, import regulations meant to control the flow of end-of-life electronics are creating headaches for shipments of a wider array of metals, including automotive scrap materials. The Recycled Materials Association recently traveled to the country to clarify the confusion. Continue Reading

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Malaysia to fully halt US e-plastic imports

Published: June 26, 2025
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Shipping containers stacked at a logistic hub.

The Basel Convention regulated e-plastics in 2021, but each party country must adopt domestic laws to enforce those rules. | Sutthisak Tasri/Shutterstock

The Malaysian government recently published regulations indicating the country will stop all U.S.-sourced imports of scrap plastic, including e-plastics from electronics, on July 1. Reports from plastic traders indicate the flow of scrap plastic into Malaysia has already slowed. Continue Reading

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Former Wisetek driver sentenced for ITAD theft

Published: June 18, 2025
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electronic devices

Although the investigation focused on 500 devices, the former driver admitted he couldn’t remember how many thousands of devices he stole. | Andrii Zhezhera/Shutterstock

An IT asset disposition employee who admitted to stealing and reselling client devices from federal government agencies was recently sentenced for the crime. Court documents also reveal new details about the scheme, including that it involved thousands of devices that received little to no data destruction, many of which remain unaccounted for. Continue Reading

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ERI details 2024 activities, including battery push

Published: June 5, 2025
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An ERI collection event in Madison, Wisconsin, detailed in the company’s 2024 impact report. | Photo courtesy ERI

Last year was a busy one for ERI, bringing the launch of the company’s first in-house alkaline battery processing facility, establishment of a new stable e-plastics downstream and the rollout of the latest edition of the company’s automated device identification system.

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CRT volumes decline, but end is not yet in sight

Published: May 29, 2025
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Cathode ray tubes are heavy, contain hazardous materials, are labor-intensive to process and have had unstable end markets. | Boonchuay1970/Shutterstock

Ten years ago, Indian cathode ray tube manufacturer Videocon was recycling end-of-life CRTs from U.S. processors into new CRT displays. New York-headquartered Nulife Glass was preparing to start up its first CRT glass furnace. In Illinois, Kuusakoski was placing CRT glass in storage cells for future potential recovery. And e-scrap processors around the country were shipping CRTs to Closed Loop Refining and Recovery warehouses in Ohio and Arizona. Continue Reading

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E-scrap sector continues solar processing push

Published: May 22, 2025
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Size-reduced solar panels at Com2 Recycling Solutions’ Illinois facility. The company is using the glass to offset declining CRT volumes. | Photo courtesy Com2

Electronics processors are increasingly adding solar panel recycling capacity, in some cases processing the panels similarly to declining streams like CRT glass and in other cases rolling out entirely new technologies, companies said in recent interviews. Continue Reading

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Battery danger and solutions take center stage at ReMA

Published: May 15, 2025
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Eric Frederickson, vice president of operations at Call2Recycle, presented a battery burn demonstration alongside the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. | Colin Staub/E-Scrap News

After a year that recorded a notable increase in e-scrap facility battery fires, the growing hazard and ways of mitigating it received ample attention at the Recycled Materials Association’s annual conference in San Diego this week.

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