Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap Market, by Source, [Household Appliances, IT and Telecommunication Products, (Smartphones) Entertainment Devices, Others], PCB E-Scrap Type (Telecommunications Circuit Cards, Network Communication Boards, Circuit Packs, PC Motherboards, Smartphones, Others), Material Recovered [Ferrous Components, Metals (Copper, Aluminum, Tin), Precious Metals (Gold, Silver, Palladium)] Regional Analysis (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, LAMEA): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020–2027

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap Market Analysis:

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap are the waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) which are of no use and have been dumped. Also, the equipment tends to have a shorter life span so that consumers keep on purchasing new electronic and electrical items. This has led to growing e-scrap waste in the surroundings. E-scrap usually comprises of computers, mobile phones, laptops, television sets, wires, washing machines, refrigerators, air-conditioners, and other electronic and electrical appliances. Further, printed circuit boards have complex structures and high metal contents which can cause serious hazards to the environment. The e-scrap can be dismantled manually or automatically depending upon the technology available in the region. To reduce the harmful impact and ensure environmental conservation dismantling of e-scrap has become a huge market attracting a lot of new players to enter the market.

Rising consumption of electrical and electronic equipment and increased awareness about the utility of recycled metals to drive the market growth

The growing technology sector and regular advancements in electronic and electrical equipment have changed consumer habits. Present-day consumers are more likely to replace their old equipment for a new one and dump the earlier one. For instance, as per a report based on the World Economic Forum’s 2019 annual meeting, global e-waste generation annually is about 50 million tonnes and is expected to reach approximately 120 million tonnes by the year 2050. The rise in the consumption of electronic products in urban households is a major factor driving the growth of the e-scrap and PCB e-scrap market. In addition, consumers nowadays are highly investing in electrical and electronic equipment and the majority of the total investments of them are done towards mobile phones. These factors contributing to excess consumption of electronics and electrical equipment are fueling the market growth massively. Furthermore, the recycling of e-scrap can help to recover multiple important metals with a view to save energy. Recycling helps in the retrieval of vital metals that were once used in the production of electronics. Even after the electronics are dumped those metals remain intact. E-scrap recycling units extract these metals out of electronics and sell them to manufacturers who require these on a regular basis as raw material. This helps to meet the daily demand for minerals and reduces the burden on mining industries to extract more of such metals. This helps the e-scrap market to generate more revenue and also fulfills the sustainable resource management demands under which harmful materials and precious metals must be extracted before recycling.

Low-level of awareness and high recycling costs are negatively impacting the global market growth during  the forecast period

Lack of awareness about the major benefits of e-waste is one of the major factors for the decline in the growth of global printed circuit board (PCB) e-scrap industry, during the forecast period. For instance, according to a report based on the World Economic Forum’s 2019 annual meeting, out of the total e-waste generated annually, only 20% is documented, collected, and recycled. The remaining 80% is often burned or dumped in landfills. This hampers the market growth massively as the majority of the e-waste doesn’t get documented. Further, recycling being a costly process majority of the poor or underdeveloped regions opt to rather burn them or dump them. These activities hamper the market growth and affect the environment negatively as well.

Increasing focus on recycling unprocessed e-waste to create lucrative market opportunities in the future years

A growing focus by the intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and World Economic Forum (WEF) over the recycling of undocumented and unprocessed e-waste has created a massive opportunity for e-waste recyclers and smelters. Countries across the globe who are participants of these organizations have started focusing on threats caused by these e-scraps to the environment. The hazardous materials used for production carry the potential to seriously affect the nature and wildlife. For example, many regions who don’t have enough resources to recycle e-scrap often opt to burn of these materials which emit harmful gases leading to air pollution, ozone layer depletion, and health issues in humans when inhaled. The issue has attracted a good amount of attention from various scientists, researchers, and enterprises. All these factors have started to motivate people and governments to carry out more of the recycling process, which will eventually create a lucrative opportunity for this market during the forecast period. In addition, governments have started developing norms regarding the sustainable environment and running awareness programs under which are making people aware of hazards and motivating them to dump the e-scrap responsibly at the right place. 

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap Market, by E-Scrap Source:

Household appliances segment will be the dominant  source of e-scrap

The household appliances segment will be the dominating source of e-scrap globally. Growing consumer purchasing power and increased technological advancements across the globe have caused increase consumption of electrical and electronic equipment in the households. To make daily household life easy, people are highly investing in such equipment. Furthermore, the availability of equipment for multiple purposes has also caused a rise in e-waste generation. All these factors are majorly contributing to the increase of e-waste and positively impacting the growth of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap market.  

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap Market, by PCB E-Scrap Type:

Telecommunication circuit cards segment will register a significant growth

The telecommunication circuit card segment will be the most generated printed circuit board e-scrap globally during the forecast period. Printed circuit boards are extremely vital to the telecom industry and are used in a wide range of telecommunication devices. These telecom equipment are electrically connected and mechanically supported by the help of high-end printed circuit boards. Telecom devices use PCB’s in multiple devices such as cell towers, phone switching systems, private branch exchanges (PBX), voice over internet protocol equipment (VoIP devices), satellites, servers and routers, and commercial phone equipment. Due to growth in the telecom industry, the consumption and wastage related to such equipment have majorly increased, causing a rise in e-waste as well.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap Market, by Material Recovered:

Metals segment will be the most lucrative till 2027, in the global marketplace

The metal segment will have a dominating share in the global market and they are expected to register significant growth during the forecast timeframe. Metals segment can be segmented into 3 materials majorly, that are aluminum, tin, and copper. These materials are highly used in electrical and electronic equipment owing to factors like high electricity conductivity, easy availability, and low procurement costs. They have wide applications and are used in multiple industries such as the telecommunication sector, construction industry, and in the installation of electrical grids as well. Due to such factors, the demand for these metals is likely to increase causing a rise in recycling activity of e-scrap material foe extraction of tin, aluminum, and copper from e-waste.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap Market, by Region:

Asia Pacific region anticipated to grow exponentially, over the forecast period

Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to grow exponentially in the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap market during the forecast period. The region is known for its maximum production of electrical and electronic goods. Growth in consumer purchasing power and the rise in technological development activities have further intensified the consumption of electrical and electronic goods in the region. Countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and India are the largest producers of e-scrap in the Asia Pacific region. Also, increasing government norms to reduce e-waste in the environment and increase in recycling activity has fueled the market growth. All these factors will be contributing to the growth of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap market in the region. 

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Key Participants in the Global Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap Market:

Merger & acquisition and advanced product development are the frequent strategies followed by the market players

Some of the significant Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap market players consists of LS-Nikko Copper Inc., DOWA HOLDINGS Co., Ltd, Umicore N.V., Ultromex Limited, Boliden Group, GCL Recycling and Refining Inc., URT Umwelt-und Recyclingtechnik GmbH, MAIREC Edelmetallgesellschaft mbH, FEECO International, Inc., and Ameriscraps.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) E-Scrap market players are concentrating more on advanced product development and merger & acquisition. Established organizations from this market frequently use such strategies. To emphasize more on the competitor analysis of market players, the porter’s five force model is explained in the report.

Source: Research Dive Analysis