Mounting electronic waste and dependence on overseas supply chains for essential materials pose ongoing challenges for the tech industry. Addressing both, Western Digital has initiated a notable partnership with Microsoft and recyclers PedalPoint and Critical Materials Recycling (CMR) to establish a large-scale hard disk drive (HDD) recycling operation entirely within the United States.
This program, detailed on April 18th, targets the recovery of valuable rare earth elements (REEs) – materials essential for magnets and modern electronics – along with other metals from drives retired from Microsoft’s data centers, offering a pathway to a more circular economy for these components while bolstering domestic material sources.
Forging A Domestic REE Pipeline
The effort, formally titled the Advanced Recycling and Rare Earth Material Capture Program, is the result of an 18-month development and testing phase that began in 2023 and wrapped up last December. The system processes end-of-life HDDs, SSDs, and caddies supplied by Microsoft’s U.S. data centers.
PedalPoint Recycling performs initial sorting, sending magnets and steel fractions to CMR. There, CMR applies its proprietary acid-free dissolution recycling (ADR) technology. This ADR process utilizes a copper salt solution for selective leaching, yielding Rare Earth Oxides (REO) – the stable form in which rare earths are often recovered – containing neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium with a claimed 99.5 percent purity and over 90% efficiency.
The program also recovers substantial amounts of aluminum, steel, gold, palladium, and copper, hitting an 80% recovery rate for all shredded material combined. During its pilot phase, Western Digital reports the program has already processed 47,000 pounds of hardware, diverting it from potential landfill disposal. The recovered REEs are intended for reintegration into the U.S. supply chain.
Strategic Timing Amidst Trade Tensions
The launch of this domestic REE recovery operation is particularly timely. It comes just weeks after China, in early April, introduced new export controls on several rare earth minerals vital for electronics, including dysprosium, one of the key elements WD’s program reclaims.
These controls were part of China’s response to new U.S. tariffs announced on April 2nd. While WD’s recycling program was developed independently over the prior 18 months, its activation directly addresses the supply chain vulnerabilities exposed by such geopolitical actions. Microsoft CVP Chuck Graham underscored the program’s value, stating, “HDDs are vital to our data center infrastructure, and advancing a circular supply chain is a core focus for Microsoft.”
Environmental Gains And Program Growth
Beyond securing materials, the program boasts considerable environmental advantages. According to a whitepaper from Western Digital, CMR’s recycling process generates 95 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to the virgin mining required to obtain the same amount of REEs. Considering the vast number of HDDs used and retired from data centers globally – often within just three to five years of service – widespread adoption of such recycling could meaningfully reduce the tech sector’s environmental footprint.
The collaboration is not just a pilot phase; Western Digital is already working to broaden its scope. “Western Digital is currently expanding the HDD rare earth material capture program based on the successful pilot with Microsoft,” Jackie Jung, WD’s VP of Global Operations Strategy and Corporate Sustainability, told Tom’s Hardware. “This program is now in development with a number of our hyperscale customers.”
Navigating Global Trade Complexities
WD’s recycling push enters a market influenced by complex international trade and technology dynamics. Recent weeks have seen increased friction, including US restrictions on advanced AI chip exports to China impacting companies like Nvidia, which led to a $5.5 billion charge for the chipmaker and spurred activity from competitors like Huawei preparing its Ascend AI chips for mass shipment starting in May.
Simultaneously, logistics firms are adapting to regulatory shifts, such as DHL’s suspension of certain high-value US-bound shipments starting April 21st due to changes in customs processing thresholds implemented April 5th. This environment emphasizes the drive for companies like WD and Microsoft to create more secure, sustainable, and geographically diversified sources for the materials fundamental to modern technology.
