Market research firm Gartner noted that in the first quarter of 2020 shipments of new PCs around the world declined by 12.3% year over year. | N.Z.Photography/Shutterstock
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted worldwide supply and demand for new PCs, bringing both bad and good news for computer recyclers and refurbishers, according to Gartner.
E-scrap programs in Texas have brought in 278.5 million pounds of computers and TVs combined since their inception. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock
Over 12.5 million pounds of TVs and 6.8 million pounds of computer equipment were collected through Texas state e-scrap programs last year, according to a recent report.
EnviroLeach has been developing a non-toxic hydrometallurgical metals leaching method for several years. | Courtesy of Enviroleach.
Circuit board processor EnviroLeach is gearing up to bring its Canadian facility to commercial-scale capacity in the next two months. The company recently raised significant capital to help in that effort.
In the midst of coronavirus-related closures, ITAD companies are reporting decreases of up to 75% in the flow of used IT equipment from corporate accounts and other organizations. | Zhuravlev Andrey/Shutterstock
At enterprises across North America, IT asset refresh projects are no longer a top priority. That has meant major volume drops for material processors, as well as painful staffing cuts in some cases.
A former U.S. e-scrap executive pleads not guilty to federal charges related to business practices, and an infamous scrap site in Ghana grabs more headlines.
Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials is planning to invest over $100 million to boost its global e-scrap processing footprint.
Canada-based EnviroLeach is planning to open a processing facility that will use a non-toxic water-based formula to recover precious metals.
Because of business and public drop-off site closures and public anxiety about virus transmission, e-scrap collections are down across North America. | Dan Leif/ Resource Recycling, Inc.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to major reductions in the collection of used consumer electronics across North America, with some e-scrap companies reporting volume drops up to 80%.