North America has the current capacity to process 144,000 tons per year of lithium-ion batteries. Vietnam Stock Photos/Shutterstock
North America’s current capacity to process 144,000 tons per year of lithium-ion batteries is “quite insignificant” against the projected growth in new manufacturing, according to a recent overview of the global lithium-ion battery recycling landscape from consulting and research firm Deloitte and a division of the American Chemical Society. Continue Reading
U.S. Public Interest Research Group released its annual ranking of device repairability. | Rabanser/Shutterstock
In this year’s “Failing the Fix” scorecard, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group said cell phones overall are getting more repairable, while laptops have stagnated. Continue Reading
Cascade described a year of relative stability and continued return to normalcy in the IT asset disposition market. | Courtesy of Cascade Asset Management
An annual industry overview from Cascade Asset Management found resale values have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, and a majority of surveyed IT asset managers plan to maintain or ramp up technology spending in the coming year. That suggests plenty of incoming ITAD demand. Continue Reading
Many of the awarded companies are exploring new ways of recovering rare earth magnets from end-of-life electronics. | stuphipps/Shutterstock
The Department of Energy’s aptly named E-SCRAP prize program has awarded funds to companies engaged in hard drive disassembly, rare earth magnet recovery, hydrometallurgy and e-plastics recycling. More companies are invited to apply this year. Continue Reading
A new paper in Nature Computational Science examines potential scenarios for AI-related e-scrap generation, which is driven by its data center needs. | Funtap/Shutterstock
As artificial intelligence continues to ramp up, researchers said the computing-heavy tool could lead to skyrocketing volumes of end-of-life electronics and called for equal attention to asset management. Continue Reading
A new report from the International Energy Agency found that recycling could lower the need for new mining activity by 25% to 40% by 2050, if scaled up properly. | GS Photography/Shutterstock
A report from the International Energy Agency emphasized the “importance of unlocking the potential of recycling” and laid out policy recommendations for scaling up the industry globally. Continue Reading
The matrix made from recycled e-plastic. | Courtesy of NTU Singapore
Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University-Singapore have come up with a novel product idea for recycled ABS – cell cultures that can be used to grow test tumors. Continue Reading
The UN Conference on Trade and Development said in its Digital Economy Report that developing nations shoulder a disproportionate share of the environmental impact from global digitalization. | KPixMining/Shutterstock
People living in developed countries generate more than 20 times as much e-scrap as their counterparts in developing countries, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s recently released 2024 Digital Economy Report. Continue Reading
In the collaboration between multiple Austrian research universities, researchers tested a two-stage bacterial process for recovering both common metals and rare earths from the shredded e-scrap stream. | Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
A team of Austrian researchers have developed what they describe as a “cost-effective” and non-polluting method to recover rare earth metals from electronics, and so far, they’ve achieved recovery rates of up to 85% from the e-scrap stream. Continue Reading
In 2022, electronics recovery in Oregon decreased by 10%, according to a new state report. | Morten-B/Shutterstock
The amount of material Oregonians disposed of in 2022 dropped significantly from the year before, mainly due to fewer building-destroying wildfires, and electronics made up only 0.4% of the recycled materials.