Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Owl Electronic Recycling operates a wash line handling e-plastics at its Pennsylvania facility. | Courtesy of Owl Electronic Recycling
Pennsylvania e-scrap firm Owl Electronic Recycling installed e-plastics sortation equipment in response to China’s scrap plastic import ban. That’s proved beneficial for the latest market disruption restricting the scrap plastic trade.
Much like a fuel service charge that is common in the logistics industry, OnePak will be reporting a Carbon Offset Cost for each pickup. | Siwakorn1933/Shutterstock
IT asset management company OnePak recently began documenting the carbon footprint of every asset shipment, with an eye toward providing a way to offset that carbon output.
Microsoft has plans to significantly expand its data center footprint beyond the current 3 million servers and related hardware, with sustainability in mind. | Ritu Manoj Jethani/Shutterstock
A year after establishing a handful of guiding sustainability targets, Microsoft this month published a progress report. The report touched on the company’s move to increase reuse at its data centers.
European metals refining company Boliden consumed its lowest quantity of scrap circuit boards in nearly a decade last year. | haraldmuc/Shutterstock
For major e-scrap smelting companies, the turbulence of 2020 brought pandemic-driven supply disruptions as well as pricing spikes for key metals.
In the annual review of company data Hyla noted that trade-in activity was slower for the full year, but that it picked up significantly in the fourth quarter. | Sonyerry/Shutterstock
Mobile device trade-ins are older than they used to be, according to recent figures from device trade-in firm Hyla Mobile. Devices are also largely retaining their value.
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is an international treaty governing how waste is moved around the world. | phil berry/Shutterstock
The Basel Convention has published multiple proposals that would restrict U.S. exports of scrap electronics. The changes will be considered at a meeting this summer.
Researchers delved into the question of exactly what is actually happening on the ground with electronics shipments to Africa. | Wead/Shutterstock
During a recent panel discussion, an e-scrap researcher and a journalist described the consequences of exporting electronics to developing nations. They also discussed how much of that material is reusable and how much is truly waste.
BoMET is one of a number of North American companies that saw that opportunity and are investing to expand their e-plastics processing capacity. | Courtesy of BoMET Polymer Solutions
BoMET Polymer Solutions is actively sourcing e-plastics from electronics recycling firms for the company’s Ontario processing facility, where it produces pellets and regrind for sale to manufacturers.
Silver is a key metal for e-scrap recovery firms. | Arkadiusz Komski/Shutterstock
Silver prices increased sharply over the past week, and financial analysts anticipate they will remain elevated in the near future.
With fewer available drivers comes less available trucking supply, leading to higher prices and potential disruptions in trucking availability for those in the recycling industry. | Vitpho/Shutterstock
A driver shortage that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to create challenges for moving used electronics and other recovered materials this year, analysts say.