Racing to Recycle: Can Scrap Shift the Rare Earth Equation?

Highlights

• Less than 1% of rare earths are currently recycled, despite being embedded in nearly every modern device.
• Western companies like Cyclic Materials and MP Materials are investing millions in rare earth recycling technologies.
• Recycling alone cannot solve the rare earth supply gap; primary mining and refining capacity remain crucial for global supply chains.

Andy Home’s column for Reuters (opens in a new tab) lands on solid ground with its central observation: as Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) has frequently reported, less than 1% of rare earths are currently recycled, despite magnets being embedded in nearly every modern device. The reporting accurately highlights recent Western initiatives—Cyclic Materials’ Ontario facility (opens in a new tab), ReElement Technologies’ (opens in a new tab) chromatography breakthroughs in Indiana, and MP Materials’ Apple-backed recycling push (opens in a new tab). Each example reflects real, tangible momentum beyond pilot plants, backed by millions in government and corporate investment.

Where the Story Leans Forward

The narrative edges into speculation when suggesting that recycling could meaningfully close the looming supply-demand gap on its own.  While some ventures, such as Attero (opens in a new tab), have forecast in a REEx podcast an expedited recycled magnet pathway, McKinsey’s projection of a 60,000-ton magnet rare earth shortfall by 2035 is credible; the implied hope that scrap streams might solve the deficit glosses over practical hurdles. Collection logistics, variable feedstock quality, and the high cost of specialized processing remain unresolved bottlenecks.

Recycling can certainly contribute, but it is unlikely to displace the need for new mines and refining capacity in the medium term.

Tilting the Tone

The Reuters piece leans optimistic—almost boosterish—about Western recycling breakthroughs while downplaying the scale advantage China still maintains, and for that matter, China’s own recycling programs. By citing McKinsey’s global demand growth forecast yet excluding Chinese production quotas from the supply side, the analysis risks reinforcing a Western-centric lens. Readers, especially retail investors, could walk away thinking the West has a clearer path to independence than is currently the case. In reality, China controls both pre-consumer and post-consumer scrap pools at scale, alongside the refining infrastructure to handle them.

Why This Matters for Supply Chains

What’s notable here isn’t just the science or economics of recycling—it’s geopolitics. With China’s recent export restrictions rattling Western manufacturers, recycling has become a political rallying cry as much as a technological solution. The real insight for investors and policymakers is that urban mining will form an indispensable secondary stream, but without primary heavy rare earth supply and refining diversification, dependency risks remain entrenched. Recycling, in other words, may soften the blow but won’t break the chokehold.

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