Rare-earth metals may be hiding out in your cabinets

A vast and largely overlooked source of rare-earth metals, materials critical for clean energy, could be in our homes, sitting in the back of our cabinets and junk drawers.

A new study from researchers in China and the Netherlands estimates reusing or recycling rare-earth metals from old cellphones, hard drives, electric motors and turbines could meet as much as 40% of the demand for the metals in the United States, China and Europe by 2050.

It’s a promising prospect, particularly for the United States, which relies heavily on imports of those materials, often just called rare earths. That reliance, industry experts say, can make U.S. supply chains vulnerable to disruption and geopolitical risks.

Rare earths are essential for green technology like electric vehicles and wind turbines, which have a critical role in moving the world away from fossil fuels. Reusing and recycling rare earths can cut down on the need for mining, which can pollute soil and water with toxic heavy metals like arsenic. Rare-earth mining operations have also become embroiled in local conflicts and human rights violations.

Being able to tap already mined rare earths would be another advantage of switching to renewable energy from burning fossil fuels, which drives global warming, said Peng Wang, a researcher at the Institute of Urban Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead author of the study, which was published this month in Nature Geoscience.

Rare earths are often combined with other metals, so extracting them can be difficult. Some rare-earth recycling methods require hazardous chemicals and lots of energy. Extracting the few grams, or even milligrams, of rare earths that are present in each old product can be a daunting task. And there aren’t many systems in place to collect old electronics and other items.

Scientists, though, are working to advance recycling techniques.