Showa Aluminum Can Corp., a subsidiary of Showa Denko K.K., has reported that it collected nearly 5.7 million used beverage cans (UBCs) in 2012. The company began its collection program in 1972.

Tokyo-based Showa says that more than 95 percent of its 8,700 employees participate in the UBC collection program. Money collected through the program is donated to regional councils involved in social welfare, welfare facilities and libraries. The fund also is used to aid recovery from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Showa Denko K.K. manufactures and markets chemical products serving several heavy industry sectors, including the electronic and computer industries.

Quincy Recycle Inc., a recycling firm based in Quincy, Ill., has announced the acquisition of On-Site Information Destruction, a document destruction firm headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa.

“Recycling services aren’t designed to provide security for clients, so secure destruction is a logical business extension for us, and we have been looking for the right acquisition opportunity for over a year,” says Bryan Stokes, president of Quincy Recycle. “On-Site is clearly a great fit for Quincy, with an outstanding team of professionals, and I’m proud to be associated with them.”

In addition to its Waterloo facility, which is National Association of Information Destruction (NAID) certified, On-Site has a facility in Des Moines, Iowa. The company offers secure document and hard drive destruction services.

Stokes says that while On-Site's business is currently 90 percent mobile, that mix should change as Quincy begins to focus its attention on product destruction and improving operational efficiencies.

On-Site operates five mobile shredding vehicles; a new Cresswood HF-70 single-shaft, low-RPM shredder; two box trucks; and a mobile hard drive shredding unit.

Chris Davis, part-owner of On-Site prior to the sale, will serve as general manager of Quincy’s document destruction business unit.

“On-Site has established a solid reputation for customer service with our client base of medical, financial and other businesses throughout the state of Iowa and Western Illinois,” says Davis. “Quincy intends to let us stay who we are, while enabling On-Site’s move into more off-site destruction, secure product destruction and other value-added services. In short, Quincy’s made this transition very easy for us and we’re ready to grow.”

Stokes adds, “Quincy Recycle has a great leadership team in place at On-Site, we’re focused on the future, and poised for growth in this exciting new market.”

Quincy Recycle operates plants in the Illinois cities of Quincy Chicago and in Fort Wayne, Ind.

ECO Plastics Ltd., Hemswell, United Kingdom, has received two recycling-related awards at separate ceremonies in the United Kingdom. The company, a consumer of plastic scrap, received the National Recycling Awards Material Recycler of the Year award. Along with Coca-Cola Enterprises, ECO Plastics has also received the Business Green Leaders’ Recycling Project of the Year for its Continuum joint venture.

“To win two awards in an evening is quite an achievement, but to do so at different ceremonies is a first for ECO Plastics,” said Jonathan Short, managing director of ECO Plastics, upon accepting the Material Recycler of the Year Award.

“Tonight is a reflection of the hard work of all our team and show what a fantastic year it’s been for ECO Plastics,” added Short. “Most obviously, of course, our Continuum joint venture with Coca-Cola Enterprises has been a huge success. The fact that it has been recognized with another top award demonstrates again that it is a project which genuinely has the potential to revolutionize the way that the recycling operates.”

In giving ECO Plastics the Recycler of the Year Award, the judging panel noted, “ECO Plastics has rightly received national recognition for the scale and strength of its recycling operation and intelligently uses key partners to close the recycling circles.”

Meanwhile ECO Plastics’ and Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Continuum joint venture collected the Business Green Recycling Project gong for Continuum Recycling in recognition of the project’s contribution to domestic recycled PET production and the partnership’s impact on the local economy.

In accepting that award, Nick Brown, associate director for recycling at Coca-Cola Enterprises, said, “We are very proud of the long-term partnership forged with ECO Plastics. This award is testament to the many shared achievements already made since opening Continuum Recycling in 2012.

“The initiative has truly transformed recycling in Great Britain, reaching the milestone of sorting more than half a billion bottles in just a year and proving fundamental in helping the Coca-Cola system to deliver on its sustainability pledge for the London 2012 Olympics,” Brown continued. “We hope the latest recognition of Continuum’s success helps to further demonstrate to everyone, from householders to Local Authorities and policy makers, the real environmental and economic benefits of recycling.”

James Murray, editor of Business Green, said, “The judges were impressed by this innovative joint venture, which has had a major impact on the UK’s recycling capacity and ensured that Coca-Cola could recycle all the bottles collected from the Olympic Games. The project was praised for providing a real life example of how closed loop manufacturing can slash environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions.”

(In the photo above, Jonathan Short is picking up the National Recycling Award for Materials Recycler of the Year. On his right is Herman Van Der Meij, Director of Resource Management at recycling plant operator Viridor Waste Management Ltd. and on his left is award presenter Alistair McGowan.)
 

Alcoa has conducted an official groundbreaking at its Alcoa East primary aluminum smelter in Massena, N.Y. According to an announcement by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, the modernization and upgrade of the facility includes a state commitment to supply 478 megawatts of low-cost electricity that will help lead to the long-term retention of nearly 1,000 jobs.

“Today’s groundbreaking is a major step forward for the modernization project of the Alcoa facility in Massena,” says Gov. Cuomo.

“Alcoa is pleased to work with the State of New York and the community to ensure that we remain an integral part of the North Country’s economic development,” says Alcoa’s U.S. Primary Products President John Martin.

Alcoa has committed to protect nearly 1,000 jobs at its Massena facilities and undertake capital investments of at least $600 million, of which $42 million is currently being spent on site preparation for a new aluminum production potline at the Massena East plant.

In related news, Alcoa also has announced plans to close its Fusina, Italy, smelter. The closure of that primary aluminum smelter, which has been idle since June 2010, will reduce the aluminum giant’s global aluminum smelting capacity by 44,000 metric tons.

In announcing its decision to permanently close the Fusina smelter, Bob Wilt, Alcoa’s global primary products president, says, “The underlying conditions that led Alcoa to curtail the Fusina smelter in 2010 have not fundamentally changed. Global aluminum prices remain weak and we must take action to maintain Alcoa’s competitiveness.”

Alcoa’s Fusina rolling mill will continue to operate.