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The Defense Logistics Agency has overhauled how the military recovers materials from retired body armor plates, ending its own role in the ESAPI disposal chain and establishing a direct, service-to-recycler pipeline to reclaim boron carbide. The shift, finalized in August after roughly two years of policy and process work, replaces the long-standing model of contracting for demilitarization and pulverization of excess Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts collected worldwide.
Fielded in 2005, ESAPI plates are made primarily of boron carbide, a ceramic that is lighter and harder than comparable metal armor and designed to withstand the penetration of three armor‑tipped .30‑06 rounds. Although they significantly improved soldier protection, the plates require routine inspection and periodic replacement due to cracks, deformation, and material expiration, generating a steady stream of excess items.
The new pathway began operating in May, with installations east of the Mississippi River shipping directly to a recycler in Virginia and bases in the West sending plates to a facility in California, according to DLA. The Defense Contract Management Agency oversees all required demilitarization performed by the contractor. Recovered boron carbide powder will first replenish DLA Strategic Materials’ National Defense Stockpile; any surplus will be sold to support manufacturing of components such as hypersonic missile and spacecraft reentry shielding.
“We changed from demilitarizing ESAPI into a landfill in Georgia, made changes in shipping instructions and demilitarization processing, in adding Defense Contract Management Agency oversight, in securing the contractor a DoDAAC for shipping destinations and authorizing them to receive property for recovery,” Helle said. “Major process change is never easy. It takes time.”
The agency framed the move as part of a broader effort launched in 2024 to harvest critical materials from excess defense property, alongside feasibility projects targeting titanium and germanium. It also comes amid renewed concern over supply security. Boron carbide—among the hardest known materials after boron nitride and diamond—is used in nuclear shielding, spacecraft reentry protection, and vehicle and personal armor. DLA cited tighter access driven by the war in Ukraine, which curbed output and exports from a key producer, and Chinese export restrictions on so‑called “superhard” materials, including categories covering gallium, germanium, and boron nitrides.
To prepare for the change, DLA’s property disposal field sites began holding all ESAPI plates in early 2025. By the time new recycling guidance was approved, locations such as Camp Pendleton and Fort Hood had accumulated nearly 29,000 plates originally valued at just under $16 million. The agency’s Reutilization, Transfer and Donation team then processed 959 Material Release Orders to ship all remaining excess plates to the recycler for material recovery.
By stepping out of the ESAPI take‑back and contracting loop and routing plates directly to certified recyclers under DCMA oversight, DLA aims to speed material recapture, cut landfill waste, and bolster domestic supplies of a strategically important ceramic.
