Change the World 2025
Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical to all kinds of technology, from smartphones to wind turbines to MRI machines. They’re also, well, rare, and extremely resource-intensive to pull out of the ground. Canada’s Cyclic Materials is racing to scale up the recycling of REEs from electronic waste and used machinery; it already operates one recycling plant at its Kingston, Ontario, location and will open another in Arizona in early 2026. The company says its recycling methods result in 63% less carbon emissions and use 95% less water compared with rare earth mining.