Cargo Business Techwire

Friday, June 12, 2015

"Reverse supply-chain" firms handle electronic waste

Once new smartphones and other mobile gadgets hit the market, companies immediately start trying to determine out how to take them apart.

Research firm IDC estimates about 1.3 billion smartphones were sold globally in 2014, up 28 percent from 2013, and another 1.5 billion will likely be sold in 2015. The growing number of connected devices is naturally followed by a growing amount of electronic waste, from the tiny components of hand-held electronics to massive cellphone towers. Companies need to dispose of the pieces without wasting valuable materials, damaging the environment — or spending a lot of money.

Companies now spend an average of 8 percent to

10 percent of revenue maintaining reverse supply-chain functions, according to Linda Li, vice president at Hong Kong-based Li Tong Group, a specialist in flipping logistics around and managing the handling of goods once they are discarded.

LTG collects around 200,000 metric tons of e-waste a year that needs to be destroyed — sometimes under the watch of intellectual property owners — and harvested for components, or broken down to be recycled.

For more of the Wall Street Journal story: www.wsj.com