SK tes has repurposed over 6 million assets for reuse or recycling in 2023. This milestone comes as SK tes continues with strategic expansions that underscore its leadership in the IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) and the recycling industry.
This achievement comes from SK tes' goal to recycle 1 billion kilograms of electronic devices by 2030. In 2023, SK tes processed 101,766,393 kilograms of equipment, including 6.2 million electronic devices.
Worldwide, the annual e-waste generation is rising by 2.6 million tonnes a year. SK tes says that it needs to keep expanding its capacity to meet the growing global needs of its clients when it comes to managing IT and data centre equipment and batteries.
To support this volume growth, SK tes is investing to meet the increased capacity requirements. SK tes is doubling the size of its facilities in Recklinghausen, Germany, and Seattle, U.S., growing its processing area to 2.7 million square feet. Earlier this year, SK tes unveiled a flagship ITAD site in Virginia designed to meet the growing needs of data centres in the region.
"Our goal is not just to grow, but to lead the way in sustainable technology solutions," said Eric Ingebretsen, chief commercial officer at SK tes. "The market is robust and the need for solutions has never been greater. We are excited about the future and remain committed to making a significant impact in the recycling and ITAD sectors."
SK tes has also ventured into new collaborative efforts, including signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SMFL to invest in battery recycling in Japan and establishing a joint venture to develop an ITAD processing site in Hanoi, Vietnam.
In addition to the smartphone batteries and technology device batteries retired annually, McKinsey reports that over 100 million electric vehicle batteries are expected to be retired in the next decade. As electric mobility increases globally, so does the need for battery recycling.
SK tes is preparing to support this growing demand. This year, SK tes plans to ramp up operations at its battery recycling facility in the Netherlands and break ground on an additional facility in Europe. The new facility will complement existing SK tes battery recycling facilities in Germany, France, Singapore, and China.
