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Category: News

E-Scrap News magazine is the premier trade journal for electronics recycling and refurbishment experts. It offers updates on the latest equipment and technology, details trends in electronics recycling legislation, highlights the work of innovative processors, and covers all the other critical industry news.

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EU recyclers make case for solvent-based methods

Published: October 23, 2025
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Pile of mixed power cords.

Dissolution recycling processes can provide effective separation of flame retardants, metals and more from e-plastics. | Damrong Rattanapong/Shutterstock

Industry association Plastics Recyclers Europe is looking to raise the profile of dissolution recycling, an often-overlooked process that doesn’t quite fit into common recycling categories and is capable of processing a wide variety of hard-to-recycle materials including e-plastics. 

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Analysis: copper set for new investment, recycling growth

Published: October 23, 2025
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Close up of copper wire scrap.

For electronics recyclers, the inclusion of copper as a US critical mineral means circuit boards and wiring looms are shifting from waste streams into high‑value commodities. | Flegere/Shutterstock

When copper was added to the US Geological Survey’s proposed list of critical minerals in August, the move signaled a strategic policy shift extending beyond mining and toward formally confirming its geopolitical significance. 

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Diversion Dynamics: Vape recycling needs policy to reach full charge

Published: October 23, 2025
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While legislators enact bans that aim to reduce vape waste, manufacturers are creating loopholes around the sale of disposable devices. | B.Robinson/Shutterstock

Editor’s Note: Diversion Dynamics is a monthly column exploring partnerships and policy that drive recycling.

I recently connected with Michael Duckworth, founder of Positive Energy Environmental Solutions, via video conference. Duckworth established the vape recycling company in 2023 after identifying a critical infrastructure gap for vape recycling in Nebraska and nationwide. Continue Reading

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Analysis: circular design still elusive in laptops

Published: October 23, 2025
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Many 2025 devices incorporate recycled metals and bio‑based finishes, but internal construction decisions such as soldered memory and layered adhesives still limit recoverability. | Eric Glenn/Shutterstock

As the latest generation of laptops reaches the desks of students and professionals, a closer look beneath the surface reveals a tension between sustainability aspirations and end‑of‑life reality.

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BAN report links brokers to surge in US e-scrap exports

Published: October 22, 2025
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Cargo stacked in a shipping hub.

A Basel Action Network study links US e-scrap brokers to large exports into Asia and urges regulators, auditors and lawmakers to close oversight gaps. | Nattanan726/Shutterstock

Nonprofit organization Basel Action Network released a report attributing surging US e-scrap exports to Southeast Asia to brokers posing as recyclers but acting mainly as shippers, a “hidden tsunami” the group says should trigger regulatory and certification reviews.
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How mergers and acquisitions are rewiring the ITAD industry

Published: October 16, 2025
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Monitors collected for recycling.

Over the past two years, the face of sustainability and IT asset disposition finance has evolved dramatically. | Koy Hipster / Shutterstock 

On Tuesday, October 28, the Plenary Session of E-Scrap Conference will address “How Mergers and Acquisitions are Reshaping the ITAD Sector.”  The discussion will be timely and important because the ITAD and electronics recycling sectors are being propelled by a fast-expanding universe of active capital. Continue Reading

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Data sanitization helps reduce premature device destruction

Published: October 16, 2025
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Regulations, AI and sustainability targets are shaping enterprise data disposition, but almost half of electronics are being destroyed when other options exist. | Merry Reveler / Shutterstock

Editor’s note: Learn more at the “Cybersecurity in ITAD: Insights from Law Enforcement, Insurance and Industry” panel during the 2025 E-Scrap Conference Oct. 27-29 in Grapevine, Texas.

Key Takeaways

  • Compliance, sustainability targets driving data security demands
  • Nearly half of end-of-life devices are unnecessarily destroyed
  • Data explosion and device upgrades are accelerating device turnover

Emerging compliance and sustainability requirements as well as the exponential growth of data generated by artificial intelligence are driving home the role of responsible data destruction, according to an executive from data-erasure firm Blancco.

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