From Waste to Wealth: How Urban Mining Can Solve the Critical Metals Shortage

Send me a messageWhat if I told you that most of the platinum and palladium in old diesel vehicles ends up lost or landfilled, even though these are some of the world’s most critical and valuable materials?In this episode of the Sustainable Supply Chain podcast, I sit down with Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx, to explore how his company is turning waste into opportunity. Regenx has developed a low-energy, chemical-based process to recover platinum and palladium from diesel catalytic converters, materials that traditional smelters have largely ignored.We discuss why diesel converters are harder to recycle than petrol ones, how their process avoids the high energy costs of smelting, and why circular supply chains like this are vital for reducing dependency on mining in places like South Africa and Russia.Don shares insights on scaling urban mining, the importance of building local processing capacity, and the hidden supply chain of 27 million catalytic converters scrapped globally each year, most of which are never properly recycled.If you care about circular economy strategies, critical raw material supply, or the future of sustainable manufacturing, this episode is for you.Find out more at https://regenx.tech.Support the showPodcast supportersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's generous Subscribers:Alicia FaragKieran OgnevGary LynchAnd remember you too can become a Resilient Supply Chain+ subscriber  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent episodes like this one and give you access to bonus episodes of topical, timely supply chain resilience analysis.🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on supply chain resilience, AI, and sustainability?I help leaders understand the forces reshaping global supply chains, from geopolitical disruption and climate risk to AI and real-time decision-making. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpckFinallyIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to just send me a direct message on LinkedIn, or send me a message using this link.If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover it. Thanks for listening.