UK-based Exurban plans $340 mln e-waste recycling plant in the United States

LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Britain-based recycling firm Exurban is planning to open a facility in the United States to retrieve metals including copper, gold and silver from e-waste such as mobile phones, computers and televisions, it said on Monday.

Recycling metals will be a crucial to meeting targets for cutting carbon emissions set by governments around the world.

Every year millions of tonnes of e-waste are buried in landfill or shipped overseas, often to the developing world, where poorly regulated disposal of electronic devices damages health and the environment. "Exurban will invest more than $340 million developing the world’s first zero waste smelter and refinery designed specifically to treat e-waste and other complex non-ferrous scrap regionally," the company said in a release.

The new facility will occupy 77 acres at the Adams Township Industrial Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana. (Reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Jan Harvey)