“What we’ll discuss, it’s all practical, real-world applications,” said Matthew Young, founder and president of Electronics Value Recovery, Inc., as he kicked off the session. The goal of the session was to highlight the opportunities in IT asset disposition (ITAD) and the electronics recycling industry including reverse logistics partnerships, technology, automation, software, AI and processing and outputs for particular material streams.
Young described the usefulness of AI like Chat GPT when looking to solve customer questions regarding purchased refurbished items.. But Young stressed how careful you must be since ChatGPT can get things wrong and provided tips to minimize this like asking the program for multiple answers.
Jeff Gloyd from BinIt showed off a video demonstrating the company’s AI system, Visia AI. BinIt’s sorting system is built on camera and X-ray modules powered by their proprietary Visia AI to react to contamination, hazards, and off-spec material. The company has stated that AI greatly improves sorting and drastically reduces thermal events. Gloyd discussed how this proactive system can help reduce insurance rates when compared to current reactive safety systems.
Patrick Nee, VP of strategic partnerships and a founder of Cyclic Materials talked all things magnets. But why are magnets so important right now? Magnets are playing a substantial role in the current rush for securing rare earth metals. Currently, 93% of magnets are produced in China, this includes magnets used in everyday items like Bluetooth headphones, cars and military equipment like F-35 fighter jets. Currently, only about 1% of magnets are recycled due to the complexity of recycling this type of metal. The goal of Nee and Cyclic Materials is to help create a circular economy for rare earth elements through environmentally responsible recycling from magnets powering the modern world.
Joe LaChance, sales operation manager for Regency Technologies, covered the importance of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system as it offers real-time visibility into asset tracking, allowing companies to monitor the entire lifecycle of each asset’s disposal. LaChance explained that ERPs can also be invaluable when it comes to compliance and reporting.
LaChance also gave tips on moving from old systems to new ERP systems and how to make sure recyclers are working with the cleanest data possible, a challenging task as many companies might have data from customer relations management (CRM), accounting and other platforms.
The session ended with a vibrant discussion on managing negative fractions/no value parts of electronic materials with an emphasis on reuse, refurbishing and component recovery.
“What we’ll discuss, it’s all practical, real-world applications,” said Matthew Young, founder and president of...