EPA report sees increase in consumer electronics recycling

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Advancing Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Facts and Figures report on Wednesday that shows progress in terms of consumer electronics recycling, including a 10 percent increase in recycling between 2012 and 2013, coinciding with the launch of an EPA program.

Sustainable materials management aims to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources and reduce costs by using resources efficiently throughout their entire lifecycle and reusing materials and products. As an example, 1 million recycled cellphones can yield 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium.

The report’s release is especially timely considering the a commitment  earlier this month from the G7 to better use natural resources throughout their lifecycles.

“For the first time, the leaders of the G7 have officially recognized the importance of the link between materials recovery and the global economy, and established the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency,” EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Mathy Stanislaus said. “Building on the progress on sustainable materials management, EPA is engaging the business, government and NGO (nongovernment) sectors to leverage this new report and G7 declaration to identify and act on opportunities for resource efficiency.”