Rare Earth Recycling
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Rare earth recycling is still marginal: SMM put the global recycling rate below 1% in August 2026, and a 2024 Physics World article said less than 1% of rare earth magnets get recycled. The US Geological Survey reports that only limited quantities of rare earths were recovered from batteries, permanent magnets and fluorescent lamps in 2025. Policy is now pushing the rate up, with a 25% EU recycling capacity benchmark for strategic raw materials by 2030 and magnet recycled-content disclosure from May 2027.
25%
EU benchmark for recycling capacity as a share of annual strategic raw material consumption by 2030
24 May 2027
date from which sellers of products with magnets above 0.2 kg must publish the recycled share of key rare earths, or two years after the delegated act if later
$500m
Apple and MP Materials collaboration for magnets made from 100% recycled material from 2027
Source: MP Materials, 15 July 2025
Which waste streams contain rare earths?
The main streams are magnet manufacturing scrap, end-of-life magnets, batteries and lamps. The USGS names batteries, permanent magnets and fluorescent lamps as the sources from which rare earths were recovered in 2025, and for heavy rare earths it reports that small quantities were recovered from magnets. The magnet stream is the focus of most investment because it holds neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, which are the most valuable and the hardest to source.
| Stream | What is recovered | Evidence on scale |
|---|---|---|
| Magnet production scrap (swarf) | Neodymium-iron-boron alloy from cutting and grinding waste | Cyclic Materials has a 10-year swarf supply deal with VACUUMSCHMELZE, according to SMM |
| End-of-life magnets | Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium from hard drives, motors and appliances | Physics World: less than 1% of scrapped magnets recycled; Proterial in Japan recovers about 94% of the neodymium it processes, but only a few hundred tonnes a year |
| Batteries | Lanthanum and other rare earths in nickel-metal-hydride cells | Named by the USGS as a source of limited recovery |
| Fluorescent lamps | Phosphor rare earths such as yttrium and europium | Named by the USGS as a source of limited recovery |
Sources: USGS, USGS heavy rare earths, SMM, Physics World. SMM notes that most disclosed capacity figures are design capacities or long-term targets, not output.
How are rare earths recycled from magnets?
There are two routes. In the short-loop route, hydrogen breaks magnet scrap into powder that is reprocessed into new magnets without separating the elements. HyProMag's version, hydrogen processing of magnet scrap, works at atmospheric pressure and room temperature and the company estimates it needs 88% less energy than making magnets from primary sources. In the long-loop route, magnets are dissolved and the rare earths separated into oxides by hydrometallurgy, as Cyclic Materials plans at a recycling park in the Carolinas with initial capacity of 600 tonnes a year of mixed oxide. The technology is covered on the magnet recycling technology page, and costs and collection on the economics and policy page.
What do policies require?
- EU. The Critical Raw Materials Act sets a 2030 benchmark that EU recycling capacity can produce at least 25% of annual consumption of strategic raw materials, and Article 29 requires disclosure of the recycled share of neodymium, dysprosium, praseodymium, terbium, boron, samarium, nickel and cobalt in magnets from 24 May 2027, with minimum shares to be set by 31 December 2031.
- EU scrap exports. The Commission's RESourceEU plan proposes restrictions on exports of permanent magnet scrap and waste to strengthen European recycling, according to electrive, without a timing in that report.
- United States. The Department of War lent $80 million to a recycler in Marion, Indiana, and awarded $5.1 million to a recycler in Houston in 2025, according to the USGS.
Frequently asked questions
How much rare earth is recycled?
Less than 1% of rare earths are recycled globally according to SMM in August 2026. The USGS reports only limited quantities recovered from batteries, magnets and fluorescent lamps, and Physics World reported in 2024 that less than 1% of rare earth magnets get recycled.
Why is rare earth recycling so low?
Rare earth recycling is low because magnets and other products are hard to collect and take apart, and the volumes are still small. Industry sources say large-scale magnet recycling needs an efficient separation process, such as hydrogen processing of magnet scrap.
What does EU law require for magnet recycling?
EU law requires sellers of products with magnets above 0.2 kg to publish the recycled share of key rare earths from 24 May 2027, or two years after the delegated act on calculation rules if later. Minimum recycled shares are to be set by 31 December 2031.
Which companies recycle rare earth magnets?
Companies recycling or planning to recycle rare earth magnets include MP Materials with Apple, Noveon Magnetics, HyProMag, Cyclic Materials, ReElement Technologies and Proterial. Most disclosed capacities are plans or design figures, not output, according to SMM.
Sources
Read on October 12, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- SMM: Global rare earth recycling surges as US, EU and leading companies boost capacity (31 August 2026). Secondary analysis; company capacities are plans
- Physics World: How a technique for recycling rare earth permanent magnets could transform the green economy (11 March 2024)
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths and rare earths (heavy)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, Articles 5 and 29
- electrive: EU presents action plan for securing critical raw materials (4 December 2025)
- MP Materials and Apple: $500 million partnership (15 July 2025)
