U.S. e-scrap processors and brokers say they’re currently able to move e-plastics. | Alexey Lesik/Shutterstock
Asia remains the destination for many plastics recovered from electronics. But as buyers relocate from China to other countries, prices are down and quality and volume are increasingly critical factors.
E-plastics have been heavily impacted by market shifts in the past two years. | myibean/Shutterstock
A European effort is calling on consumers to push manufacturers into using recycled plastic in new electronics as a way to build end markets for the challenging material.
MBA Polymers plans to start processing e-scrap devices at the new facility in 2020. | PIYAWAT WONGOPASS/Shutterstock
Global plastics recycling company MBA Polymers will open a facility in Germany to recover e-plastics from electronics and appliances.
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.
Regulatory changes could prevent the U.S. from exporting e-plastics to a number of countries. | rawf8/Shutterstock
Federal regulators are asking countries that are major buyers of U.S. scrap plastic to refrain from implementing new trade restrictions laid out in the Basel Convention, a treaty covering global scrap material shipments.
A number of e-scrap-related items were addressed in Dell’s 2019 sustainability report. | Courtesy of Dell
A global OEM says it has achieved its 2020 electronics recycling and recycled feedstock goals. The company also adopted e-scrap tracking as a permanent part of its recycling vendor auditing program.
Three major electronics brands recently made recycling- and repair-related announcements or released new figures on their materials recovery progress.
Facing a shaky long-term outlook for plastic exports, Sims Recycling Solutions has invested in plastics cleanup systems in the U.S. and the Netherlands.
An industry group has identified six advanced recycling projects that target plastics from electronics. One of the tech developers is a prominent North American e-scrap processor.
Projects exploring strategies to recover key materials from end-of-life electronics have received funding from the REMADE Institute.