Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been rising worldwide, and its improper management incurs in economic losses and environmental damage. To provide a better understanding of the forces that drive the management of WEEE, economic and political roles are discussed by comparing the WEEE recycling system of Brazil and Australia. Additional insights about the recycling systems were gathered from interviews with recyclers of both countries (in-loco visits and online/phone surveys). Previous studies show that both countries act as first stage recyclers, dismantling WEEE to ship their valuable components for international recyclers (such as printed circuit boards) while keeping less valuable material (such as polymeric and ferrous pieces). Australia has defined the responsibilities of most agents involved in the WEEE management and recycling setup, while Brazil inadvertently has left the system to be defined through free market regulation. As Brazil recently signed a reverse logistic agreement, there is an important opportunity to channel WEEE into formal routes and implement improvements in the entire recycling system (some suggestions are provided). Australian recyclers were found more organised in their disassembly lines, and some characteristics of the Australian model can be adapted for the Brazilian benefit. In conclusion, economic factors will drive first stage recycling (where labour wages are a small fraction of the total costs) and international downstream recycling, while a political framework is necessary to establish a comprehensive collection system, first stage recycling (where wages are representative) and domestic downstream recycling, given these are generally non-profitable activities in the short term.

LED lamps already conquered the market of general lighting and are expected to generate a substantial stream of e-waste in the coming years. The challenge of recycling LED lamps have emerged, and it is essential to address both environmental and economic aspects to achieve a circular economy. LED lamps contain precious and critical metals, which can be found in electrical components and in the LED itself, making them a prospective waste for recycling initiatives. However, data about the concentration and distribution of these metals in the LED lamp’s components are still scarce and uncertain. This work aims to characterize the various components of different brands of LED lamps to provide novel data on the precious and critical metals’ amounts. Gold and silver were found in all brands of lamp, and we highlight the occurrence of gold in all analyzed components, in concentrations between 0.01% and 0.07%, which is relevant to the economic viability of future recycling routes (gold and silver can contribute with USD 4,340.00 per ton of LED lamps). The critical metals gallium, yttrium, and cerium were found in LEDs, while cobalt, barium, gallium, antimony, and manganese were found in printed circuit boards (PCBs). Additionally, the elements lead, cadmium, and arsenic were characterized due to their association with environmental and human toxicity. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Recent increases in the demand for automotive lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have led to higher needs for critical materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. Consequently, recovering materials from spent batteries has gained importance. This study aimed to (1) develop a mechanical pretreatment method for separating and concentrating materials from spent NCM₈₁₁ cells and (2) evaluate the economic, environmental, and shortage potentials of these fractions. The pretreatment involved grinding and granulometric separation, producing six particle-size fractions. The main novelty of the study was the assessment to identify the particle size fractions which are priorities for recycling for decision-making by recycling companies, optimizing their resources and efforts. Analysis showed that the finest fraction (n < 0.5 mm) had 85% of lithium, 77.4% of cobalt, 75.1% of manganese, and 68.5% of nickel. This fraction represented 40.4% of the processed mass and had the highest economic value (USD 3669/ton NCM cell). This fraction was also prioritized for recycling due to its superior environmental impact (103,788 kg CO₂-eq/ton NCM cell) and scarcity considerations. Furthermore, the black mass of NCM was the priority for recycling and had greater economic, environmental, and supply risk potential than the black mass of LFP cells.

After more than a decade since smartphones became consolidated in the market, many recycling solutions have been proposed to deal with them. To continue developing useful solutions and enable adjustment of routes, this mini-review aims to analyse the current research scenario, presenting relevant gaps, trends and opportunities. From a structured searching and screening procedure, a vast source of data was arranged and is available to extract useful information (43 studies on composition and 93 studies on recycling). The study provides discussions about the history of smartphone development, constituent materials and recycling methods for different components, comparisons between feature phones and smartphones and others. Among some conclusions, the authors highlight the lack of studies on pre-extractive methods, green chemistry, recovery of critical and precious metals, determination of priority materials for recovery and solutions for entire devices. In the end, a list containing six research gaps for composition studies and seven research gaps for recycling studies is provided and may be seen as opportunities for future research.