Associate Editor Jared Paben has worked for Resource Recycling since December 2014. Most of his earlier career was spent as a reporter for the daily newspaper in Bellingham, Wash., but he also has experience working for the Oregon volunteerism commission and for Oregon nonprofits serving low-income populations. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Despite increasing funding for free drop-off events, manufacturers as a whole failed to reach their e-scrap recycling targets in Wisconsin last year. | Blulz60/Shutterstock
Wisconsin residents have enjoyed a noticeable boost in free e-scrap drop-off opportunities lately, thanks to a state grant program and increased funding from OEMs, according to a state official and report.
The former owner of Eastern Electronics Recycling pleaded guilty to charges of knowingly storing hazardous materials without permits. | Tiko Aramyan/Shutterstock
The owner of a shuttered e-scrap company will avoid prison time but will still have to fund the cleanup of CRT materials in North Carolina.
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Technologies Displays Mexicana (TDM) is the latest to shut down its CRT operations, following companies such as Camacho Recycling and Nulife Glass. | Google streetview
TDM, a Mexican company that has recycled millions of pounds of CRTs from the U.S., closed its CRT recycling business this year.
IRT is capturing high-definition photos of printed circuit boards so AI-powered software can learn to categorize them by precious metals content. | Courtesy of IRT
Integrated Recycling Technologies is developing an AI-powered app for its suppliers that will quickly categorize and price their scrap circuit boards before they ship them. The software will also power the company’s own robotic circuit board sorting system.
URT installed a new shredding and separation system at its newly occupied 198,000-square-foot facility in Fort Worth. | Courtesy of Universal Recycling Technologies (URT)
Universal Recycling Technologies has invested nearly $7 million in a processing facility that will greatly expand the company’s commodities recovery and electronics refurbishment capabilities.
Phonecheck’s robotic system automates parts of the grading process, speeding it up significantly and eliminating subjectivity. | Courtesy of Phonecheck
A company that provides used phone history reports has formally launched a robot that automatically grades a device’s cosmetic condition, performs diagnostics and erases data.
Closed Loop began leasing the Phoenix facilities in 2010, and when it failed in early 2016, it left a combined 106 million pounds of CRT materials on both properties (59th Ave. property pictured). | Courtesy of Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions/ADEQ
Owners of Phoenix warehouses filed a federal lawsuit against e-scrap companies that shipped CRT materials to Closed Loop Refining and Recovery, and already two defendants have agreed to pay out roughly $1 million each.
An October 2022 Google image showing the Bulmahns’ farm at right and the site of the planned Exurban smelter at left behind the trees. | Google Streetview
Owners of a farm across the road from a planned e-scrap smelter in Indiana filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the project, arguing that a facility of its type isn’t allowed by the local zoning code.
The $2.6 million project aims to stop lithium-ion battery fires triggered by damaged batteries or batteries that are damaged during the sorting and recycling process. | Mehaniq/Shutterstock
A European R&D project aims to create an AI-powered system that can detect and automatically remove batteries from e-scrap before they present fire risks at recycling facilities.
KC Recycling is heavily involved in recycling lead batteries, which are roughly 4-5% polypropylene by weight. | Courtesy of KC Recycling
A British Columbia electronics recycling company has struck a supply deal allowing true closed-loop recycling of polypropylene from lead batteries.