[Supply Chain] Mitsubishi Corporation and DEScycle Form Strategic Partnership on E-Waste Recycling in Japan — Recovering Metal Resources from Electronic Waste
E-waste generated by the proliferation of electronic devices contains metal resources, and this development can be seen as incorporating recovery and resourcing from discarded products, not just reliance on primary resources from mines, into the scope of business. What matters is not that "urban mining will completely replace resource procurement", but that a concrete move to embed the cycle of waste collection, metal processing, resourcing and re-supply into existing trading company and manufacturing networks is taking shape.
Related Regulation Information
EU Battery Regulation
The EU Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) comprehensively overhauls the former Battery Directive (2006/66/EC) and is a directly applicable regulation governing the entire lifecycle — from raw material sourcing through design, production, reuse, and recycling — of all batteries placed on the EU market, including electric vehicle, industrial, light means of transport (LMT), portable, and starting-lighting-ignition (SLI) batteries. It imposes some of the world's most stringent environmental and traceability requirements, including disclosure and caps on carbon footprint, the introduction of the Digital Battery Passport, mandatory supply chain due diligence, minimum recycled-content requirements for raw materials (cobalt, lithium, nickel, and lead), and raised targets for waste-battery recycling efficiency and material recovery.
See this regulation's full analysis (timeline & business impact)💡 The overview and schedule for the regulation related to this article can also be found on the Regulatory Gateway Database page.