Alcoa (NYSE: AA), the world’s leading aluminum producer, announced that it has become a minority investor in Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the largest U.S. recycler of electronics waste.
The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Alcoa Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Kevin Anton will also become a director of ERI.
Consumer electronics represents a fast-growing market for aluminum because of the metal’s light weight, durability, heat conductivity and surface finishes. Aluminum content in laptops alone is expected to increase 30% by 2013, from a 2010 baseline, Alcoa said.
Alcoa’s investment will help further develop ERI’s
recycling technologies and expand its geographic footprint across the
U.S.
Alcoa partnered with ERI in 2010 to develop the free Aluminate recycling app for iPhone, as part of the company’s goal of increasing the recycling rate of aluminum cans in the U.S. to 75 percent by the year 2015.
Alcoa also announced today that it will become an enterprise member of the Basel Action Network (BAN)’s e-Stewards Certification program, an organization dedicated to eliminating the disproportionate impact of trade in toxic chemicals and products on developing countries. ERI was a founding member of BAN’s e-Stewards Certification program.
Fresno-headquartered Electronic Recyclers International handles over 120 million pounds of waste annually at six locations around the US–in California, Washington, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts and Texas. The company claims to have the United States’ largest electronic waste shredding capacity and recycles electronics from U.S. retailers and manufacturers, including Best Buy and Samsung.
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