Colin Staub is a reporter at Resource Recycling. He can be contacted at [email protected].
In 2018 Fairfax County collected nearly 1.6 million pounds of scrap electronics. | Lukasz Stefanski/Shutterstock
E-scrap collection contracting in Fairfax County, Va. turned messy after the county selected a new service provider to replace its existing vendor.
Independent repair firms will soon be able to more easily tackle Apple devices. | Kevin Khoo/Shutterstock
Apple will make official repair resources for common out-of-warranty iPhone repairs available to a larger number of independent repair shops.
Recycling of rare earth metals has drawn greater attention in the e-scrap industry in recent years. | stuphipps/Shutterstock
European Union grant money will fund a rare earth metals recycling project in the U.K. The planned pilot facility will target magnets found in hard drives and other devices.
IRT is expanding and moving into this 230,000-square-foot building in St. Cloud, Minn. | Courtesy of IRT.
IRT is moving into a facility more than five times the size of the company’s current Minnesota site as its business model evolves.
India was the second largest importer of U.S. scrap plastic during the first six months of 2019. | Avigator Fortuner/Shutterstock
Recovered plastic, including material from end-of-life electronics, has largely stopped flowing from the U.S. into India, which until recently has been among the top importers of scrap plastics.
Apple confirmed its installation of battery-checking software. | gowithstock/Shutterstock
Newer iPhone models contain software that effectively impedes third-party battery replacement, according to a repair advocacy group. Apple says it introduced the software as a safety measure.
Fire officials spoke with employees and learned the blaze sparked when computers were mixed with lithium-ion batteries. | Inaoy/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
An Illinois e-scrap processor suffered a major fire this week. The cause is unconfirmed – company employees told investigators lithium-ion batteries were involved, but company officials dispute that fact.
Glencore’s recycling division serves as a downstream outlet for a variety of e-scrap materials. | science photo/Shutterstock
The shuttered BlueOak Arkansas e-scrap metals facility has been acquired by Glencore, which is working to start up operations at the site.
During the 10 years Arrow operated in the ITAD sector, e-commerce increased and became a competitor to the company’s business model. | dokurose/Shutterstock
Evolving ITAD economics contributed to Arrow Electronics’ decision to jettison that segment of its business, according to company leaders.
Improperly disposed lithium-ion batteries can be a fire risk at e-scrap facilities. | anantachat/Shutterstock
Legislation making lithium-ion battery producers responsible for collecting and recycling the products they sell is advancing in California.