How E-Waste Could Reshape the Rare Earth Supply Chain

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Pop quiz: What do old laptops and TVs, global high-tech supply chains, China, tariffs, the U.S. economy, and state and local government recycling programs have in common?

If your answer is "rare earth minerals," you're correct.

"As the U.S. and China vie for economic, technological and geopolitical supremacy, the critical elements and metals embedded in technology from consumer to industrial and military markets have become a pawn in the wider conflict. That’s nowhere more so the case than in China’s leverage over the rare earth metals supply chain. This past week, the Department of Defense took a large equity stake in MP Materials, the company running the only rare earths mining operation in the U.S.

"But there’s another option to combat the rare earth shortage that goes back to an older idea: recycling. The business has come a long way from collecting cans, bottles, plastic, newspaper and other consumer disposables, otherwise destined for landfills, to recreate all sorts of new products.

"Today, next-generation recyclers — a mix of legacy companies and startups — are innovating ways to gather and process the ever-growing mountains of electronic waste, or e-waste, which comprises end-of-life and discarded computers, smartphones, servers, TVs, appliances, medical devices, and other electronics and IT equipment.”

This rare earth minerals topic has been a major issue during tariff negotiations with China and other countries, and many believe the issue is so important to the Trump administration that they have made repeated overtures to buy Greenland — or even take it by force.

According to The Washington Post, "Trump covets rare earth riches, but Greenland plans to mine its own business": “Interest in Greenland’s untapped geological riches is soaring, driven in part by President Donald Trump who has vowed that 'one way or another' the United States must 'get' Greenland, a semiautonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

"The White House says control of Greenland is imperative for U.S. national security. It has become clear the administration is especially focused on the establishment of a new secure supply chain for the critical materials the West needs to make advanced magnets and chips, used in MRI scanners, nuclear submarines and AI computers.”

Courtesy: www.govtech.com