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The U.S. IT asset disposition and electronics recycling industries struggled to sustain growth in 2023 because of a dormant market, dominated by lack of demand for used equipment and parts, and hesitation from companies that have refrained from relinquishing their aging assets. Asset procurement on the upstream side and trading in the downstream sector were weak, and as a result, prices fell substantially.

As technology trade tensions between China and the U.S. escalate, bans on trading minerals used in producing LED screens, semiconductors, chips and batteries are again putting the recycling sector in the spotlight. 

With just weeks to go before new e-scrap trading regulations take effect worldwide, companies are feeling cautiously optimistic that trade disruption will be softer than it could have been. 

New U.K. rules will require online retailers importing electronics into the country to contribute to costs associated with recycling e-scrap there, and introduce a new category specifically for vapes.

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.

Sandwiched between a quiet residential neighborhood and a tree-lined multi-use trail, a 10-year-old cathode ray tube and assorted e-scrap stockpile in West Bend, Wisconsin, is finally being removed and disposed of at an estimated cost of $3.2 million.

Mint Innovation, an Australian company that is scaling up a hydrometallurgical technology to recover precious metals from e-scrap, this week began construction on a $20 million refinery in Texas capable of processing nearly 9 million pounds per year of printed circuit boards.

Rising insurance costs have been a topic of concern for several years, and while battery-induced fires have caught much of the attention, panelists at the 2024 E-Scrap Conference said there's more to it – and more options are available to ease the pressure. 

A recent study has focused public attention on household products containing plastic that the authors suggest was recovered from electronics, raising safety concerns about chemicals contained within the recycled content.

Major ITAD firm Ingram Micro has reached a strategic distribution agreement to extend 1Password's identity security offerings to North American business customers.