Recycling Electronics for Climate Action

Did you know?

Minnesota generates 266 million pounds of electronic waste each year, providing a $3.2 billion dollar opportunity to capture critical metals via recycling. In doing so, we could prevent toxic pollution in our landfills and prevent toxic air resulting from burning e-waste, both of which harm human and environmental health..
But..
...We only collect 24% of our e-waste for recycling in Minnesota, help us reach 100%!

Our Work

100% e-Waste Collection Bill

RECA is working to pass a bill that will provide free electronics recycling to all Minnesotans, and work towards collecting 100% of our e-waste!

Support

Your donation will allow us to research, educate and advocate for 100% circularity of electronics in Minnesota and beyond!

Jobs for Minnesotans

Right now, we are dumping or exporting the majorty valuable metals from our electronic waste. If we recycle all of our e-waste in the State of Minnesota, we could create over 1,700 jobs.

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Metals for the Energy Transition

The metals available in our e-waste are worth $3.2 billion dollars annually. By fostering a robust recycling system here in Minnesota, we can provide metals that are critical for renewable energy technology like solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, air source heat pumps, geothermal, and utility-scale energy storage units.

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Environmental Justice

If our electronics are not recycled properly, they create pollution and environmental justice issues. It is a national pattern that pollution from our waste disproportionately affects our low-income and BIPOC communities. A prime example of this are the electronics ending up in the trash incinerator located in North Minneapolis, where the rates of asthma are 6 times higher than the State average.

MPR covers the HERC

Electronics in the HERC

Improper Disposal is Costly and Polluting

Lithium Ion batteries from electronic devices increasingly wreak havoc for our waste handlers. In fact, 3% of the United States' waste infrastructure is lost every single year due to batteries in our waste stream, and the issue is rapidly getting worse.Battery fires in landfills are also common. Some local landfill operators report small "spot fires" from batteries every few days. Unfortunately, as it did in Rice County in May of 2023, not all spot fires are contained. When these fires burn in landfills they produce an uncontrolled release of toxins into the air for miles.