A new partnership between The Royal Mint and Recycling Lives Services is recovering gold and other precious metals from electronic waste (e-waste) in the UK. This initiative also helps rehabilitate prisoners through supervised work programmes.
As businesses focus on keeping valuable materials in circulation instead of sending them to landfill, this collaboration in South Wales is one to watch. The Royal Mint is working with Recycling Lives Services to retrieve precious metals from e-waste and provide job training for prisoners.
Through its precious metals recovery business, Reformation Metals, The Royal Mint now collects circuit boards from old televisions at civic amenity sites across the country. This e-waste is manually taken apart at Recycling Lives’ facility in Preston before being sent to The Royal Mint for gold and other precious metal extraction, ensuring these valuable materials remain in the UK economy.
Sean Millard, Chief Growth Officer at The Royal Mint, framed the arrangement as central to the Mint’s recovery operation: “Recycling Lives plays a vital role in supporting our precious metals recovery work. We’re proud to work with such a specialised recycling business. Their feedstock has enabled us to continue sourcing high-quality precious metals from e-waste across the UK, while their social impact model adds further value to a partnership advancing a more circular economy.”
The Royal Mint’s Reformation Metals facility in Llantrisant, South Wales, forms part of the 1,100-year-old organisation’s long-term strategy to diversify into sustainable precious metals innovation. By extracting gold, silver, and platinum from e-waste, it aims to reduce reliance on traditional mining and strengthen UK supply chains. This partnership illustrates The Royal Mint’s commitment to sustainable e-waste solutions.
Adrian Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at Recycling Lives Services, said: “By working with The Royal Mint’s Reformation Metals team, Recycling Lives Services is recovering valuable materials from UK e-waste while supporting a rehabilitation model that creates practical routes towards employment for prisoners preparing for release. The Royal Mint’s commitment to ethical precious metals recovery helps make that model possible, connecting circular economy innovation with meaningful second chances.”
Recycling Lives Services provides nationwide recycling and waste management solutions for UK businesses, combining commercial recycling operations with a social impact model that supports rehabilitation and employment opportunities for people facing barriers to work.
Caption: The e-waste is dismantled at Recycling Lives’ facilities in Preston, then transferred to The Royal Mint for gold and precious metal extraction – keeping valuable materials within the UK economy. Picture credit: Recycling Lives Services
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