By Morgan Korn
Gernot Wagner, a climate economist and professor at Columbia Business School, applauds Redwood for trying to tap into this “large reservoir” of old devices and helping Americans “Marie Kondo” their homes and apartments to better the environment.
“There’s so much demand for these metals right now. Companies are looking anyplace for them,” he told ABC News. “It’s certainly true that many of us have too many old electric devices sitting around that we no longer use and don’t really know what to do with.”
Whether other companies adopt Redwood’s business model will depend on two factors, Wagner pointed out.
“If it pays, there will surely be new entrants. If it doesn’t — or this company is so successful to corner the entire market — there won’t be others,” he said. “Moving from internal combustion engines to EVs is fundamentally a good thing. We’ve got to make EVs work while also minimizing other impacts on the planet. It’s better to recycle than mine from scratch.”
Quoted in: “Electric vehicle batteries require precious minerals. That old cellphone may be the solution” by Morgan Korn, ABC News (12 February 2023).