US Department of Energy Recommends Grant Award for ERI’s Plan to Expand Participation in Consumer Electronics Recycling

Grant of About $5 Million to Support Multifaceted Education and Outreach Program

FRESNO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ERI, the nation’s largest recycler of e-waste in the US and creator of RecycleNation (the #1 ranked consumer recycling search engine) and the Impact Podcast (the leading sustainability discussion forum), announced today that it has received official notice of a recommendation from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) in support of its approximately $5 million proposal for a plan to expand participation in electronics and consumer battery recycling.

After ERI submitted a comprehensive proposal titled “Expanding Consumer Participation in Electronics Recycling Programs Utilizing Targeted Marketing Campaigns,” the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) within the DOE completed an evaluation of ERI’s proposal and formally recommended it for negotiation of a financial grant award.

ERI’s application for grant funding of about $5 million is designed to support the DOE’s goal to increase collection of end-of-life consumer electronics and stand-alone batteries for recycling as a key contributor in developing a sustainable domestic source of battery-grade materials.

“We are grateful and excited about the DOE’s support of and commitment to bipartisan infrastructure laws surrounding consumer electronics battery recycling, reprocessing, and battery collection,” said John Shegerian, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of ERI. “We’re honored and humbled to receive the MESC’s recommendation to receive the grant award to pioneer an innovative and comprehensive outreach program to engage and inspire more Americans to responsibly recycle their end-of-life electronics and consumer batteries. ERI’s circular economy mission aligns with the goals of the DOE and we are excited for next steps as we work to make our world a cleaner, better place. We thank the DOE for recommending us and we are also grateful to our stellar roster of teaming partners for this proposed project.”

ERI has compiled a team of industry leaders across various stakeholder groups to ensure success. In its plan, ERI’s teaming partners include Best Buy, Staples, LG, Logitech, Samsung, Vizio, Sony, Waste Management, HP, Panasonic, ASUS USA, Circular Electronics Partnership, Electric Power Research Institute, e-Stewards, MRM, National Center for Electronics Recycling, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Reverse Logistics Association, Solid Waste Agency of Lake County IL, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Washington Materials Management & Financing Authority.

With demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary energy storage projected to expand the lithium battery market as much as ten-fold by 2030, the DOE has stated that investments in sustainable, reduced-cost recycling of consumer batteries are critical to securing the domestic materials supply chain to meet that demand. Recycling used batteries reduces demand for new materials and allows our domestic industry to produce at lower costs, supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a more sustainable battery supply chain and having EVs make up half of all vehicles sales in America by 2030.

ERI is the largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company in the United States. ERI is certified at the highest level by all leading environmental and data security oversight organizations to de-manufacture, recycle, and refurbish every type of electronic device in an environmentally responsible manner. It is the first and only company in its industry to achieve carbon neutrality at all its facilities nationwide, and the first to achieve SOC 2 Type I and II certifications for security and data protection. ERI has the capacity to process more than a billion pounds of electronic waste annually at its eight certified locations, serving every zip code in the United States. ERI’s mission is to protect people, the planet and privacy. For more information about e-waste recycling and ERI, call 1-800-ERI-DIRECT or visit https://eridirect.com.