Printed circuit boards are made of roughly 30% metal and 70% nonmetals. | Sebastian_Photography/Shutterstock
Scientists who set their sights on potentially hazardous chemicals in scrap electronics say they can effectively break down the flame retardants in shredded circuit boards.
Gartner reported that businesses upgrading to Windows 10 played into strong demand last year. | People Image Studio/Shutterstock
Global PC purchases increased in 2019, reversing a years-long downward trend. The growth was driven primarily by sales to the business sector
Supermicro’s annual survey found fewer respondents are choosing certified recycling operators. | Maximumm/Shutterstock
A survey of data centers found the IT-rich facilities are moving in the wrong direction when it comes to recycling their hardware.
The U.S. recycling rate for consumer electronics has been trending downward since 2014.
The U.S. recycling rate for consumer electronics took a dive in 2016 and flatlined the following year, according to the U.S. EPA.
Federal funding will target e-scrap separation for metals and plastics recovery. | Jer123 / Shutterstock
A government-backed institute that has funded e-scrap recycling research in recent years is accepting applications for another round of grants.
Researchers discovered employees working near an e-scrap shredder had elevated levels of lead in their blood. | Jarun Ontakrai/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
Testing at a New England e-scrap facility showed that two employees working near a granulator were being overexposed to airborne silver particles.
Discarded electronics are estimated to reach 122 million short tons per year around the globe by 2050. | Petra Nowack/Shutterstock
A United Nations-backed study predicts massive growth in global tonnages of end-of-life electronics, and it examines how the recycling sector can best prepare.
Recycling of rare earth metals has drawn greater attention in the e-scrap industry in recent years. | stuphipps/Shutterstock
European Union grant money will fund a rare earth metals recycling project in the U.K. The planned pilot facility will target magnets found in hard drives and other devices.
Using a state-of-the-art laser facility, University of Pennsylvania chemists will research how they can use kinetics in e-scrap metal separation strategies. | Photo courtesy University of Pennsylvania.
A $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation will support research into better separation of metals in consumer electronics.
The company’s process uses microorganisms to scavenge precious metals from circuit boards. | raigvi/Shutterstock
An e-scrap firm using microbes to recover metals from electronic scrap has launched a processing facility to demonstrate its technology.