Japanese trading company Itochu is launching a new business to recover critical minerals from discarded digital equipment, supporting the country’s push to strengthen domestic recycling.
Central to the initiative is establishing a new recycling plant in Zama, near Tokyo. The driving forces behind e-scrap hub are the company’s subsidiary Belong and its US business partner ERI. Together, they established a dedicated joint venture, called ERI Japan in April. They expect the new site to become operational in November.
The partnership builds on ERI’s expertise as the leading electronics recycler in the US. It has recycled around one million tonnes of devices since its launch in 2002.
Tapping the mine
The new facility will process mainly used smartphones and computers. Devices will first undergo secure data wiping before being dismantled, shredded and sorted. The recovered metals and minerals will then be supplied to Japanese manufacturers for use in new products.
Itochu highlights the importance of tapping the ‘urban mine’. Citing recent market data, it expects the global electronics recycling sector to be worth EUR 22.7 billion by 2029. This is a jump of more than 7% compound annual growth on the EUR 15.7 billion reported in 2024.
Analysts at Markets&Markets say Japan will see even faster growth. Here, the e-cycling sector is projected to double from EUR 900 million in 2024 to EUR 1.8 billion by 2033.
Japanese leadership
The joint venture is the result of manufacturers facing tighter supplies of technology metals, driven by geopolitical tensions and rapid growth in artificial intelligence technologies. Itochu also expresses concernsover supply security following China’s export controls on rare earth elements.
At the same time, Japan’s latest economic and fiscal policy guidelines call for greater domestic recycling to reduce reliance on imported raw materials. The Environment Ministry has recently announced plans to invest almost EUR 210 million in ‘circular leadership’. The funding will benefit electronics, critical metals, plastics and permanent magnet recycling.
Scrappy afterlife
Itochu established Belong in 2019. It buys used smartphones from businesses before reselling refurbished devices through its Nicosuma platform in Japan and overseas. Belong collects several million gadgets per year.
The company believes demand for both refurbished electronics and recycling services will grow as the price of new smartphones continues to increase. Apple recently raised iPhone prices in the Japanese market, making second-hand devices a more attractive option for consumers.
Combining refurbishment with material recovery is said to be a logical next step for Itochu.
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