E-WASTE RECYCLING AND REUSE SERVICES MARKET ANALYSIS

Electronic waste or e-waste is discarded electrical or electronic devices. The used electronic devices that are destined for reuse, resale, recycle, and refurbishment through material recovery or disposal are considered e-waste. E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world. In developed countries, it equals around 2% of total solid waste on average.

The global e-waste recycling and reuse services market is estimated to be valued at US$ 1,509.3 million in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.3% over the forecast period (2021-2028).

Recent Developments:

• In January 2021, Petonic Infotech, a pioneering management consulting firm announced half a million-dollar investment in Prometheus e-Waste Recycling, a Delhi-based start-up company that offers comprehensive recycling services to get rid of electronic wastes.
• In September 2021, India’s largest metal scrap processor MTC Group and e-waste recycler Exigo Recycling Private Limited have formed a joint venture company MTC-Exigo Recycling Pvt. Ltd (MERPL) to process e-wastes and ramp up recycling capacity.
• In October 2021, E-waste recycling company Igneo Technologies will invest $85 million in opening its first U.S. electronics recycling facility in Savannah, Georgia. The project is expected to create at least 150 jobs in Chatham County.

Figure 1. Global E-waste Recycling and Reuse Services Market Value (US$ Mn), by Region, 2020

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Europe held dominant position in the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market in 2020, accounting for 35% share in terms of volume, followed by North America and Asia Pacific, respectively.

Global E-waste Recycling and Reuse Services Market - Drivers

Limited shelf life of electronic products is expected to drive growth of the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market during the forecast period. All electric and electronic consumer products have limited shelf life, which depends upon the usage and the consequent wear and tear of these gadgets. The wear and tear of the products thus play a vital role in the shelf life. With the advent of technology and innovation, the average shelf life of all the white goods has become limited. The average shelf life of a mobile handset is around 18 months. The demand for mobile phones is growing, thus the sales are also increasing

High rate of obsolescence is expected to propel the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market growth over the forecast period. As previously mentioned, the average shelf life of cell phones is around 18 months. Since new products are being introduced on a regular basis, there over 500 million used cell phones ready for disposable. Similarly, every day a new and advanced gadget is being observed, owing to intense competition in the electronics market. An average consumer thus tends to switch to such a novel product. As a result, appliances like computers, refrigerators, etc. have a shorter period of obsolescence. This ultimately results in discarding the old appliances and thus a huge amount of e-waste is generated.

Market Opportunities

Growing interest by electronics manufacturers can provide major business opportunities in the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market. A vast amount of waste is generated during R&D and the manufacturing of electronic products. Many manufacturers have realized that recycling and reusing this waste will be advantageous. Mobile phones contain inorganic materials, metals, and plastic that can be recycled as part of sustainable e-waste management. Many major cell phone manufacturers thus have even started their individual campaigns to buyback the old cell phones from customers willing to upgrade their handsets. Many companies have started a novel campaign to reduce e-waste. For instance, companies such as Nokia and Sony repurchase their products from the consumers and recycle them further.

Increasing demand for information and communication technology (ICT) and consumer electronic products. Corporations and BPOs are constantly upgrading their computers and computer peripherals, which in turn, has increased the demand for ICT products. Currently, there is a rising trend of upgrading their existing gadgets such as cell phones. Technology has also played a crucial part in reducing the shelf life of electronics. People today have good purchasing power. This capacity is efficiently paired with the introduction of advanced consumer electronics and ICT items. Thus the demand for these items has increased like never before. As a result, the sales volume of these items has also significantly increased.

Market Trends

The unprecedented increase in e-waste, stringent e-waste regulation, improvement in collection and management of e-waste, and growing environmental awareness supplemented with additional revenue stream has propagated a number of consumer electronics manufacturers to recycle and reuse the waste created with discarding of older or obsolete devices. The thrust behind the growth in the number of recyclers is rooted in growth in average revenue generated per ton of waste recycled. It is estimated that by 2017, about 35% of the total electronic waste generated will be recycled as compared to 26.8% in 2012.

The growth in revenue per ton recycling of waste stood at 4.8% in 2011 and increased to 5.7% in 2012. The growth rate will have a further boost with the improvement in waste collection and recycling methods. However, gradual organization of waste suppliers and increasing focus of semiconductor, electronic, and consumer electronic manufactures will result in increased competition for the sourcing of waste and will result in increase in the cost of waste acquisition. Although this will have a limited impact on the growth of the market as the average revenue per ton of e-waste recycling is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% over the forecast period.

Figure 2. Global E-waste Recycling and Reuse Services Market Share, By Source, 2020

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Key Takeaways of the Graph:

• The household appliances held dominant position in the market and accounted for 42.1% share in the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market in 2020. The segment is expected to reach US$ 1,217.8 million in 2028.

Global E-Waste Recycling and Reuse Services Market - Restraints

High cost of e-waste management is expected to hinder the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market growth over the forecast period. A large chunk of electronics are neither recycled nor disposed-off. In fact, the majority of it, especially old PCs, are dumped in storerooms of homes, warehouse, and offices. High labor and environmental control cost requirements are economic holds back of domestic e-waste recycling. Enterprises had not taken e-waste management seriously due to high costs. On the contrary, government regulations and increased public awareness are also needed to help mitigate this challenge. Hence, these factors are expected to hinder the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market growth over the forecast period.

Fewer e-waste collection zones is expected to restrain growth of the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market during the forecast period. The maximum amount of e-waste is generated in offices, universities, schools, and households. Mostly their e-waste thus generated is left in warehouses and storerooms. Rarely are these wastes resold in the market or handed over to the e-waste management services for further recycling. At least in the developed nations where the e-waste management practice is prevalent, the collection mechanism is not that widespread. Globally, there is a lack of e-waste collection zones and processing mechanisms. A mechanism must be created so that liaison with the above target zones will be made for periodic collection of the waste.

Competitive Section

Key companies operating in the global e-waste recycling and reuse services market are Tetronics Ltd, Stena Techno world, CRT Recycling Inc., UMICORE SA, Global Electric Electronic Processing Inc., Sims Recycling Solutions, MBA Polymers Inc., Cimelia Resource Recovery, and Electronic Recyclers International Inc.

Key Developments

1. For instance, in June 2018, Sims Recycling Solutions expanded its Eindhoven, Netherlands e-waste facility
2. For instance, in June 2019, MBA Polymers Inc. acquired new recycling plant for electronic equipment in Saxony, Germany