America’s demand for critical materials has reached a crucial point. Recently, the urgency was reflected in official policy. On July 20, 2026, Executive Order 14415 was signed to address supply chain vulnerabilities such as physical disruption, cyber threats, economic coercion, or reliance on geopolitical adversaries. Starting January 1, 2027, the Department of War will impose strict limitations on waivers for acquiring materials from adversarial sources. Defense and aerospace contractors will be required to trace components, software, and materials to their raw origins.
This order acknowledges that both national security and commercial stability rely on critical materials and components necessary for manufacturing and maintaining military equipment. Efforts are underway to rebuild shipyards and aerospace production lines that deteriorated over decades. However, these endeavors—from AI data centers to nuclear submarines and satellites—still depend on materials bought from strategic rivals.
“American military strength is inseparable from American economic strength, and both are essential to sustaining a free and democratic world,” said Jamie Dimon at Senator Dave McCormick’s recent Defense and Innovation Summit.
In the modern era, production involves not only factories, capital, and labor but also access to copper, rare earths, and other essential materials. A strong economy, technological edge, and military security hinge on controlling these foundational materials. While AI excels in various tasks, it cannot produce raw materials. Though software scales easily, minerals must be painstakingly mined and processed.
Within homes and offices, unused electronics contain valuable materials like copper, aluminum, gold, and more. These old devices are key to the commercial defense and aerospace economies. Yet, America still relies on fragile foreign supply chains for minerals crucial for AI, manufacturing, energy, and defense. China handles about 90% of global rare earth refining and dominates in strategic mineral refining. When China restricted exports in 2025, it quickly impacted industries from automobiles to consumer electronics.
Rebuilding American mines is critical, but mining alone won’t meet the demand. Recovering materials from obsolete electronics offers the quickest method to enhance domestic supply and reduce reliance on rivals. Urban mining transforms waste into supply, reinforcing manufacturing and national security.
Currently, ERI processes more than a million pounds of electronics daily, yet many devices escape recycling. Improved recovery technology is futile if devices remain uncollected. Concerns over data security hinder recycling efforts. Building trust in secure data destruction is vital for responsible electronic recycling.
Globally, about 62 million tonnes of e-waste were produced in 2022. Only 22% was responsibly recycled. America can’t afford to lose valuable materials. A “Green Fence” policy is needed to retain obsolete electronics domestically for critical material recovery, preventing exportation of resources, jobs, and resilience.
The technology exists to recover materials and reinforce domestic supply chains. Proper recycling of U.S. electronic waste could yield billions of pounds of materials to bolster manufacturing and security. The materials and opportunity are present; America’s need is to secure these critical resources domestically.
John Shegerian is Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ERI, focused on IT asset disposition and electronics recycling. He advocates for the circular economy, mineral recovery, and sustainable resource management.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
Leave a Reply