Whenever Apple indicates a new product release, device-recovery firms join in on the wider consumer market chatter. But in the runup to this fall’s release of the next iPhone, the recycling and repair buzz – and anxiety – is even more charged than normal.

More details have emerged on PC Rebuilders & Recyclers’ bankruptcy case after a summary of the company’s assets and debts was filed in Illinois bankruptcy court this week.
Fearing a veto from the governor, Illinois stakeholders are attempting to iron out last-minute changes to legislation that would reshape the state’s e-scrap law by requiring manufacturers to fund recycling of all covered material collected through the program.
An environmental nonprofit group teams with iFixit to assess how electronics brands are doing when it comes to creating repairable products. And grant money is on the table for e-scrap collection efforts in one state.

A year ago, a federal official temporarily granted individuals and companies alike the right to unlock used phones and tablets. Now, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is asking to make that ruling permanent.