processors

Midwest-based Plastic Recycling, Inc. is looking to provide compounds for OEMs and automotive manufacturers that fit a wide range of specifications and just happen to be made from e-scrap. 

Rare earth element recycler REEcycle received a $5.1 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense to advance its work in extracting elements critical to neodymium-iron-boron magnets — the key building blocks of renewable energy and national defense technologies. 

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.

A recent report from a U.S. occupational safety unit found significant levels of mercury vapor throughout an Ohio e-scrap and lamp recycling facility, leading the team to provide recommendations for protecting worker health.

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.

Evolving technology in electronics shredding can help make value recovery more efficient and profitable, but there are several considerations companies must factor in before investing in new equipment, panelists said at the recent E-Scrap Conference.

IT asset disposition company Sprout has received a majority investment from a New York City-based private equity firm, which predicts rising demand for ITAD services in the years to come.

Metals and rare earth processor Cyclic Materials signed a multi-year offtake agreement with Glencore to send the smelter copper from e-scrap, batteries and electric motors. 

Korea-based ITAD giant SK Tes processed more than 100,000 metric tons of IT assets last year, the company reported in its newly released 2023 sustainability report.

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.