UK firm looks to commercialise technology for recycling waste electronics

The patent pending process is designed to enable the efficient recovery of precious and base metals from waste circuit boards, in a fast and environmentally friendly way. "Metallo is an excellent partner for us as our project moves towards commercialisation," said David Bishop, director of Itrimex. "They have strong technical credentials, a reputation for innovation, and are well positioned particularly in Europe. We look forward to working closely with them in optimising and scaling up the Itrimex process." Itrimex is a joint venture between Ultromex and ITRI Innovation. The partnership was established to commercialise the research and development work the companies had undertaken in response to growing legislative pressure, particularly in the European Union, to increase the recycling of end of life electronic scrap. The European Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment regulation (WEEE) has set progressively stringent targets for collection, recycling, and recovery of all types of electronics goods within the European Community. Overall the aim is for the EU to recycle at least 85% of electrical and electronics waste by 2016.