Why Disassembly Is Becoming Essential in Modern Recycling

A recent industry discussion has once again highlighted a growing challenge in recycling: when lithium batteries end up in mixed metal waste, the consequences can be severe. As more products are designed with integrated batteries and electronic components, traditional shredding processes are facing increasing safety risks, material losses, and operational inefficiencies.

This is exactly why disassembly is becoming more important.

Instead of sending mixed products directly into shredding, disassembly makes it possible to remove batteries and other critical components in a safer and more controlled way before they enter the waste stream. This reduces fire risk, improves operator safety, and creates a more robust recycling process.

But the value of disassembly goes far beyond safety.

By separating products before shredding, recyclers can recover individual components, metals, and rare earth-containing parts in cleaner fractions. These fractions often hold significantly higher value than mixed shred output, where material quality is reduced and valuable resources are harder to reclaim. In other words, disassembly is not only a safety measure - it is also a way to improve recovery rates, increase material value, and support more circular supply chains.

With e-waste volumes continuing to rise, and batteries becoming part of more and more products, this shift is no longer a future consideration. It is a practical necessity for recyclers who want to improve both safety and profitability.

This is also why our disassembly cell, build around 2x UR3e Universal Robots is relevant. It enables operators to work more safely, recover more value from end-of-life products, and support a smarter, more circular alternative to conventional shredding.

We already see this in practice through our case with areera Intelligent Screen Recycling, where automated disassembly helps create a more efficient and more valuable recycling process.