The GSA said the move reduces the government’s exposure to electronics that are outdated and don’t meet current standards. | Rena Schild/Shutterstock
This story has been corrected.
The federal government plans to cease buying refurbished and used IT equipment through its main acquisition arm, the General Services Administration. The move could hurt dozens of suppliers.
Back Market works with 1,500 sellers on its used device marketplace platform. | OtmarW / Shutterstock
Back Market this week announced an investment round delivering the company $335 million, the latest large dollar figure raised by the refurbished electronics business.
Recently the FTC said it would help with legislative efforts to increase consumer access to device repair. | Mark Van Scyoc / Shutterstock
When OEMs restrict the independent repair of electronics, they’re disproportionately hurting communities of color and lower-income people, federal regulators said.
Legislation addressing electronics repair has advanced in Massachusetts, among other states. | Real Window Creative / Shutterstock
More than 40 legislative proposals have been introduced across the country covering repair of a variety of equipment types, and electronics-focused bills remain active in at least nine states.
An analyst says that consumers are becoming more willing to buy used electronics. | Filippo Carlot / Shutterstock
A consultant who helps develop consumer electronics trade-in programs says the computer chip crunch is helping to fuel secondary device markets.
Electronics recycling and repair advocates provided comments to the EPA as the agency considers changing what counts toward the national recycling rate. | Photographee.eu / Shutterstock
If electronics are repaired, refurbished or remanufactured, should their weight be counted in the U.S. recycling rate?
Echo’s resale gross profit was $9.5 million in 2020, more than double the prior year’s. | Ari N/Shutterstock
A family of Dallas-area electronics processors enjoyed surging revenues and profits from the device resale business last year while the commodities recycling business grew at a slower rate.
Europe has seen a number of electronics recycling newsworthy events recently. | sasirin pamai / Shutterstock
Right-to-repair legislation now covers TVs across the European Union, and the U.K. is looking into a significant expansion in residential e-scrap collection.
An industry insider wrote that 4G devices will retain their value in the near future, allowing carriers to offload devices into secondary markets. | Dmitry Demidovich / Shutterstock
A mobile expert at Assurant says technology developments to boost cellular connectivity will help drive turnover of devices.
Microsoft has plans to significantly expand its data center footprint beyond the current 3 million servers and related hardware, with sustainability in mind. | Ritu Manoj Jethani/Shutterstock
A year after establishing a handful of guiding sustainability targets, Microsoft this month published a progress report. The report touched on the company’s move to increase reuse at its data centers.