A few weeks ago, we toured METech, the facility where Recycle Utah sends all collected electronics. METech is an R2v3-certified recycler, meaning it meets the highest standards in electronics recycling: maximizing material recovery and ensuring all data is securely wiped from devices.

Recycle Utah’s electronics are stored until there’s enough to haul to METech’s Salt Lake City facility. There, items are weighed and sorted—especially those containing data storage, which are securely wiped. Most materials are then baled and shipped to their central hub in Gilroy, California.

At the Gilroy facility, motherboards are carefully dismantled by machines that recover valuable metals like gold, palladium, and platinum, separating them for reuse in new electronics. Other devices are shredded and sorted using magnets and eddy currents to recover metal, plastic, and glass. These materials are then sent to manufacturers who use them in products like laptop covers, new electronics, and more.

What surprised me most was the sheer volume—and variety—of items they receive and dismantle for recyclable parts. I even picked up a leather cushion, assuming it was landfill-bound, only to learn it was headed to a leather recycler! That level of detail made it clear that METech is committed to recovering everything possible, beyond just items with a plug or battery. We’re lucky to have one of their facilities so close. Across the U.S., many electronics are trucked hundreds of miles to reach facilities like this.

The EPA estimates that almost 3 million tons of electronics go into U.S. landfills every year. Recycling electronics keeps hazardous materials out of the landfill, and arguably more importantly, lets us reuse valuable non-renewable resources like precious metals, whose extraction is damaging ecosystems, polluting air and water, and causing human rights crises across the globe. 

Seeing METech in action gave me real hope. When done right, electronics recycling truly can close the loop—and we all play a role by choosing to recycle responsibly.

By Chelsea Hafer