Electronic recycling market in rapid expansion mode, registers AGR of over 23% to 2019

The sheer uptick in the use of electronics and the grave environmental impact of this trend will lead the global electronic recycling industry to register a CAGR of 23.06% between 2013 and 2019, says a report by Transparency Market Research. The valuation of the global electronic recycling market in 2012 was US$9.84 bln. According to a study conducted by organizations working in partnership with the United Nations, by 2017, about 65 mln tons of electronic waste will likely be generated. This creates the backdrop for the growth of this market. According to the TMR report, the key drivers of the global electronics recycling market, over the next four to five years, will be a boost in technological investments, the enforcement of strict recycling rules, and heightened awareness about the disposal of e-waste. A number of non-profit organizations and advocacy groups are actively working toward the promotion of best practices for electronic recycling. And, with urban mining creating several new business avenues, the demand for electronic recycling products and services is likely to see a spike. On the flip side, the report also notes that the global electronics waste recycling market will be constrained by factors such as the lack of efficiency in the collection of e-waste and the illegal exports of hazardous e-waste to developing countries where safety mandates are not followed during recycling. Moreover, the market still faces a dearth of enough recycling technologies. These factors fuse to form a larger negative force that will decelerate the electronic recycling market's growth. Because several electronic products contain precious and rare earth metals, most recovery and recycling operations are geared toward the retrieval of these metals. The report segments the global electronic waste recycling market on the basis of processed material as: Steel, copper, plastic resins (ABS, HIPS, polystyrene, polycarbonate), and others. Of these, steel was the most widely recycled material because mined steel experiences severe cost fluctuations and also because this metal is the most commonly used in electronic devices Furthermore, the report also segments the global e-waste recycling market on the basis of processed material that is used as stock for manufacturing new electronic products. These segments are: Steel, copper, plastic resins, polystyrene, and others. On similar lines, the report segments and studies the market by type of equipment processed as: Telecom, computers, consumer, industrial, and others. The bulk of recycling activities were concentrated on computers in 2012, and this trend is expected to continue well over the report's forecast period as the average lifecycle of a computer shrinks thanks to massive strides in computer chip development. Based on the sources from which electronic waste is generated, the market is classed into: Government agencies, consumers/residential, schools/universities, manufacturers/industry users, and commercial. Europe held the premier position in the global electronic recycling market in 2012, and was trailed by North America. The efficient enforcement of e-waste recycling regulations in Europe (RoHS and WEEE) can be credited for Europe's leading position. With South Africa becoming a dumping ground for e-waste from developed countries, the e-waste generation from this African nation is expected to grow at least eight times the current volume