“It’s a significant step forward in working towards a circular economy in electronics manufacturing.”
Mint raised $60 million in a 2023 venture capital round. That helped to bankroll its first recycling plant, which opened in Sydney in 2024 and today is capable of processing up to two tonnes of e-waste at once (see video above).
In mid-2025, it landed a role in a £8.1m ($17.9m), UK Government-funded pilot to extract lithium, nickel and cobalt from used electric vehicle (EV) batteries at a West Midlands plant – which will be re-manufactured into battery cells that go into new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.
Mint co-founder and chief executive Will Barker (a LanzaTech alumnus) said the aim was to scale up from a 500kg trial to a commercial scale that would involve about 20,000 tonnes of batteries being recycled per year, from around 40,000 EVs, of all different brands.
And later this year, Busby said, Mint was on track to begin “phase-one operations” at its second e-waste recycling plant, currently under construction in Longview, Texas.
Are there any plans to open an e-waste plant closer to home?
“Given New Zealand’s market size and current e-waste recycling rate – around 2% – Mint is not currently prioritising a New Zealand facility,” Busby said.
“Mint’s head office in Mount Wellington continues to host our research and development and engineering teams as well as a range of business functions.”
Burning a hole in ratepayers’ pockets
Barker earlier said that Sydney was chosen for Mint’s first e-waste plant in part because New South Wales had mandatory e-waste recycling, while New Zealand took a voluntary approach. (Texas is voluntary too, but Barker said that’s just maths – the larger US market holds the most immediate commercial appeal.)
New Zealand’s current approach to e-waste recycling has caused a degree of financial harm and mayhem, including in Auckland, where the council has reported 35 battery-related fires across its rubbish trucks and waste facilities since the start of last year, and in Christchurch, where the council has recorded 40 battery-related fires across its trucks and facilities in the last 12 months.
Lithium-ion batteries thrown into general waste can puncture and catch fire when thrown around in the back of a truck.
Each rubbish truck fire costs $5000, Auckland Council estimated.
“The improper disposal of e-waste can result in valuable materials being lost and harmful substances entering the environment,” Environment Minister Penny Simmonds said.
She was receiving advice on the wider waste work programme, including product stewardship schemes for priority products.
“We are taking a measured and practical approach to ensure that any regulatory changes are workable, that infrastructure and accredited recycling pathways are in place and that industry has time to adapt.”
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
