Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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.
Gaylord boxes of cathode ray tube glass stockpiled wall to wall in a former Recycletronics site in Akron, Iowa, which was cleaned up in 2022 under the U.S. EPA’s purview. | Photo Courtesy U.S. EPA
Two e-scrap collectors that allegedly sent cathode ray tube glass to failed Midwest processor Recycletronics recently received demand letters from the U.S. EPA seeking compensation for more than $1.3 million in cleanup costs from Superfund remediation activities in 2022.
The safety-focused summit came after the latest federal data showed a backslide in waste and recycling industry safety. | Susan Montgomery/Shutterstock
As recycling companies seek to improve workplace safety amid an industry-wide increase in on-the-job fatalities, experts at a recent industry summit advised managers to focus their attention on — and for top executives, even to attend — the regular pre-shift safety meetings.
A county collection program servicing 223,000 single-family households is rolling out on-demand curbside electronics and battery collection accepting virtually all types of e-scrap. | Photo courtesy Montgomery County Department of Environment Protection
By creatively utilizing existing collection infrastructure, a county government in Maryland is rolling out curbside electronics and battery collection for all electronics at no additional cost. Continue Reading
Hard drives provide one source of rare earth elements in the end-of-life electronics stream. | Kazu326/Shutterstock
As rare earth elements draw mainstream headlines for their entanglement in the U.S.-China trade war, recent announcements from an ITAD operator, an OEM and a magnet processor indicate the domestic end-of-life device stream is increasingly providing feedstock for rare earth end users. Continue Reading
Smartphones and laptops are exempt from U.S. tariffs targeting Chinese imports, but other goods are currently subject to 145% in duties. | Metamorworks/Shutterstock
Country-specific reciprocal tariffs have been pushed out until July, but a universal base rate tariff rolled out last week, which covers all countries, and earlier metals tariffs remain in effect. Meanwhile, an all-out trade war between the U.S. and China is intensifying. Continue Reading
China dominates the global production of rare earth elements, and the U.S. wants to find ways to change that. | RHJ Photo and Illustration/Shutterstock
The White House this week issued an executive order directing the Department of Commerce to explore the effects of critical mineral imports on national security. Among other points, it calls for the agency to explore policies boosting recycling of minerals like cobalt, nickel, aluminum and palladium, as well as the 17 rare earth elements. Continue Reading
The Refurb Company provides a variety of stick-on products that can be applied during the refurbishment process to upgrade the cosmetics of a well-worn device. | Photo courtesy The Refurb Company
A company providing parts to refurbishers that increase used device value and marketability has opened a U.S. location in partnership with a domestic IT asset disposition firm, representing what company leaders say is a push to localize all aspects of the refurbishment process. Continue Reading
CEAR in 2024 processed 12 million pounds of electronics at its electronics recycling facility in the Sacramento area. | Photo courtesy CEAR
Longtime e-scrap and IT asset disposition firm CEAR has received an investment from a Texas-based capital firm, priming the ITAD operation for future growth. Continue Reading
Com2 is shredding and sorting e-plastics at its Carol Stream plant in Illinois. | Photo courtesy Com2 Recycling Solutions
North American e-scrap processor Com2 began processing e-plastics in-house at the beginning of the year after global regulations on material movement challenged longstanding export pathways. Continue Reading