E-Scrap Recycling Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the e-scrap recycling market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global e-scrap recycling market reached a value of nearly $8.61 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.56% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $8.61 billion in 2023 to $13.94 billion in 2028 at a rate of 10.10%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.10% from 2028 and reach $23.6 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the growing usage of electronic products, rising environmental awareness, increased disposable income, increasing trade and economic growth in developing countries. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period include stringent regulations.

Going forward, the increasing investments in recycling infrastructure, rising production of e-scrap, favorable government initiatives, rising urbanization and increasing industrialization will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the e-scrap recycling market in the future include a shortage of skilled professionals.

The e-scrap recycling market is segmented by product into IT and telecom equipment, small household appliances, large white goods and other products. The large white goods market was the largest segment of the e-scrap recycling market segmented by product, accounting for 47.47% or $4.09 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the IT and telecom equipment segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the e-scrap recycling market segmented by product, at a CAGR of 12.10% during 2023-2028.

The e-scrap recycling market is segmented by processed material into metal, glass, plastic and other processed materials. The metal market was the largest segment of the e-scrap recycling market segmented by processed material, accounting for 49.95% or $4.3 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the plastic segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the e-scrap recycling market segmented by processed material, at a CAGR of 11.19% during 2023-2028.

The e-scrap recycling market is segmented by application into dealing materials and recycling materials. The dealing materials market was the largest segment of the e-scrap recycling market segmented by application, accounting for 59.70% or $5.14 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the recycling materials segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the e-scrap recycling market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 10.78% during 2023-2028.

Western Europe was the largest region in the e-scrap recycling market, accounting for 30.21% or $2.6 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Asia-Pacific and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the e-scrap recycling market will be Asia-Pacific and Africa, where growth will be at CAGRs of 11.59% and 11.34% respectively. These will be followed by the Middle East and South America, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 10.85% and 10.35% respectively.

The global e-scrap recycling market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 22.12% of the total market in 2023. Stena Metall AB was the largest competitor with a 5.61% share of the market, followed by Waste Management Inc. with 3.29%, Veolia North America with 2.86%, DOWA Holdings Co. Ltd. with 2.51%, Sims Limited with 2.49%, Arrow Electronics Inc. with 1.92%, Cox Enterprises Inc. with 1.33%, UMICORE N.V. with 0.98%, Electronic Recyclers International (ERI) with 0.72% and Enviro-Hub Holdings Ltd. with 0.40%.

The top opportunities in the e-scrap recycling market segmented by product will arise in the large white goods segment, which will gain $2.14 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the e-scrap recycling market segmented by processed material will arise in the metal segment, which will gain $2.72 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the e-scrap recycling market segmented by application will arise in the dealing materials segment, which will gain $3.0 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The e-scrap recycling market size will gain the most in the USA at $1.08 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the e-scrap recycling market include focus on technology developments to improve the recovery of valuable materials from e-waste, strategic partnerships and collaborations for enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of electronic waste management, new product launches to enhance the overall effectiveness and sustainability of electronic waste management, new plant expansions for enhancing the capacity and efficiency of electronic waste management and use of scrap samplers in e-scrap recycling for ensuring accurate assessment and efficient processing of electronic waste.

Player-adopted strategies in the e-scrap recycling market include focus on expanding business expertise through strategic partnerships and new service launches.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the e-scrap recycling companies to focus on advancing technology for E-waste recovery, focus on new product initiatives for E-waste management, focus on implementing advanced scrap sampling technologies, focus on IT and telecom equipment segment, focus on plastic recycling segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships for E-waste management, focus on expanding recycling plant capacities, focus on expanding partnerships with local and regional collectors, provide competitively priced offerings, focus on implementing tiered pricing models, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on leveraging digital marketing channels and focus on recycling materials segment.