Scrap metal recycling helps to snag old cell phones and laptops before they reach landfills — but what other benefits exist? This is important considering that “more than 4.4 million tons of used and end-of-life electronics are processed annually in the U.S. recycling industry,” according to, “Recycled Commodities Series: Electronics,” an informative video released by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) alongside the 2015 E-Scrap convention—which will be held in New Orleans for 2016.
The ISRI report helps to outline the growth of e-scrap recycling, how the U.S. recycling industry has expanded over the past decade, and who benefits.
The growth of any industry is a surefire way to add jobs to the U.S. economy, helping to improve overall livelihood for communities, families and individuals. Within this burgeoning field, the e-scrap industry has created more than 45,000 full-time jobs in the U.S., according to ISRI. Of all of the collected goods, 83% of items are recycled and reused domestically. All-over, the market growth has added more than $20.6 billion to the U.S. economy.
Recycling scrap metal reduces the depletion of natural resources, and walls-up or decreases manufacturing waste. Scrap recycling also requires less energy, and offsets greenhouse gas emissions. For example, one metric ton of electronic scrap from computers contains more gold than that recovered from 17 tons of gold ore!
With the improvements of recycling technology and technology systems, parcels of recycled electronics are able to re-enter the market as individual resources such as a plastic, aluminum, silver, copper—and gold. With the establishment of more third-party certification systems, more used cell phones, laptops, home stereos and other electronics can go back into the market stream and into users’ hands.
General Kinematics hopes that designers and manufacturers continue to be inspired to create electronic products that are easy to recycle!
What happens when the largest buyer of recycled consumer waste decides that it no longer wants to be the recipient of the world’s trash? That is the question facing municipalities and recycling companies in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. In a dramatic move last April, the city of Ipswich in Queensland, Australia decided to […]
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Construction and demolition, or C&D materials, are the various waste streams (e.g., wood, metals, concrete, asphalt, gypsum) generated from the construction, renovation, and demolition of roads, buildings, and bridges. In the United States alone more than 500 million tons of C&D materials are generated annually. Because so much C&D waste is produced, it is imperative […]
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Before digging into the argument of which method of recycling is more efficient, it is important to understand both methods thoroughly. Included in both recycling methods are two categories of materials: Category #1: Fibers Mixed office paper, envelopes, colored paper, paper bags, etc. Old Corrugated Cardboard (OCC) Newsprint Magazines Phone books (who uses […]
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