Dutch company Closing the Loop buys scrap phones from local collectors in Africa. | Photo by Closing the Loop, provided courtesy of TCO Development
Sustainability certification organization TCO Development launched a program through which purchases of new electronics will fund e-scrap recycling in developing countries.
Construction crews build additional loading docks at the new facility. | Courtesy of SEAM.
A South Dakota ITAD and electronics recycling company will spend a couple million dollars to purchase, renovate and move into a larger facility.
Wisetek is assembling ventilators at its facility in Cork, Ireland. | Patrik Slezak/Shutterstock
An Irish electronics recycling firm has converted its refurbishing line to focus on assembling ventilators. Meanwhile, the medical devices are drawing focus among right-to-repair advocates.
New York City’s e-scrap recycling programs collect an average of 9.4 tons per day at the curb and inside apartment buildings. | tetiana.photographer/Shutterstock
New York City has “indefinitely suspended” its curbside e-scrap collection program, a move expected to save the city about $3.4 million a year.
The $349 billion in initial funding for the Paycheck Protection Program ran out within two weeks. | NIKCOA/Shutterstock
Electronics recycling firms and other processors across the country are looking to a federal assistance program to help them overcome cash-flow problems sparked by the coronavirus. Some have been successful, but others are running into banking complexities and tapped-out funding.
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.
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%.