News

A bill to ensure that consumers have the right to repair most electronics and appliances is on its way to the desk of Oregon's governor.

Readers last month were drawn to an op-ed co-written by BAN and SERI - marking the first time those organizations have jointly authored an opinion - as well as stories about ITAD giant Sims, e-scrap collection statistics and the E-Reuse Conference changing hands.

Equipment supplier BHS-Sonthofen is highlighting equipment that recovers metals from e-scrap at a global environmental technology trade show this year in Munich. 

Repair company uBreakiFix by Asurion opened another franchise location in Laredo, Texas, offering repairs for consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, computers, game consoles, smart speakers and drones. 

Metals mining and smelter company Umicore described its recycling business as "resilient" in 2023, noting it was "below the exceptional performance" of the year before but still above pre-2020 levels. 

Robotic sorting systems are increasingly making their way into e-scrap and ITAD facilities, where they help categorize, sort and even disassemble devices. Now, they're entering one processor's facilities as part of the end-of-life stream.

Canadian industry-led nonprofit NGen awarded 86.7 million Canadian dollars ($64.2 million US dollars) in grants for 15 advanced manufacturing projects in Canada, including two rare-earth magnet recyclers. 

The value returned to consumers for their used mobile device trade-ins hit a record high $4.3 billion in 2023, thanks to strong demand for new devices, a bump in the worth of old smartphones and other factors.

Global ITAD firm Sims Lifecycle Services repurposed 700,000 more devices in the first half of its 2024 fiscal year compared with the prior-year period, representing the third year in a row of significant growth in device volume.

Logitech is moving to use more recycled e-plastic in its video collaboration equipment and is offering to share its methods for incorporating recycled materials with other companies.