Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Grover offers a wide range of devices available for lease by consumers, including computers, smartphones, drones, gaming devices, and many more. | Micolas / Shutterstock
Grover, a European company that provides subscription access to consumer technology, recently secured massive investment capital, underscoring wider interest in a model that maximizes device life span and facilitates end-of-life recycling.
Redwood Materials is one of a handful of firms scaling up lithium-ion recycling processes. | OtmarW / Shutterstock
Redwood Materials, a growing Nevada-based battery recycling firm that recently partnered with an e-scrap processor, received more than $700 million in funding from various financing organizations.
A policy statement includes several specific actions FTC will take and other steps it is asking the public to take. | Alexey Kabanov / Shutterstock
The Federal Trade Commission last week pledged to heighten enforcement actions on manufacturers that block independent repair of their products.
Apto recycled more than 2.9 million pounds of e-scrap and sent more than 316,000 pieces of equipment for reuse in 2020. | Koy_Hipster / Shutterstock
Apto Solutions is experimenting with a new way of tracking where its recycled IT assets ultimately end up. The company released a report on its program this month.
In e-scrap processing facilities, the report recommends specific staff training to identify and properly handle batteries, and more. | TnkImages / Shutterstock
After charting a global increase in e-scrap facility fires caused by damaged batteries, experts published a handful of key recommendations for preventing thermal events.
Urban E Recycling broke the $1 million revenue mark in its fifth year, and in 2020 it achieved $3.1 million in revenue. | Courtesy of Urban E Recycling
Urban E Recycling opened a new site earlier this year, the latest development for a e-scrap processor that has found a niche by focusing on smaller clients and providing free collection of material.
Washington e-scrap collectors handled nearly 15.2 million pounds of covered devices in 2020. | Alexander Lutaskiy / Shutterstock
Washington state processors handled far more flat-panel displays than CRT devices in 2020, continuing a trend that began the year before, according to the state’s annual report.
Closed Loop Partners invested in nationwide electronics recycling company ERI. | Candyclub / Shutterstock
ERI this week received private equity funding from investment firm Closed Loop Partners. ERI’s chairman says the capital will help the processor deploy advanced processing equipment at its facilities.
Microsoft declined to comment on the shareholder resolution, but a company spokesperson pointed to Microsoft’s Devices Sustainability Report for the 2020 fiscal year.| Eric Glenn / Shutterstock
An advocacy group filed a shareholder resolution requesting that Microsoft study the impacts of making repair resources readily available to the public. The company hasn’t commented, but it referenced its existing efforts in the field of repair.
Researchers pointed to targeted subsidies and higher penalties for fraud as things that could potentially solve the problem of dishonest recycling. | Gwoeii / Shutterstock
Cost is the main factor contributing to fraudulent recycling activities, researchers recently reported. They say improving the financial equation for e-scrap processors and raising the penalties for bad actors could reduce negative practices.