The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) today announced that Dan Garvin will receive its 2021 Young Executive of the Year Award. Garvin is honored for his leadership and dedication to ISRI and the industry.

“Having had the pleasure of working with Dan over the years, I can say that he embodies everything the Young Executive of the Year Award represents,” said ISRI President Robin Wiener. “From his start on the board of ISRI’s Rocky Mountain Chapter to his current work on the ISRI Board of Directors Dan has consistently demonstrated his leadership skills while working to raise the visibility of the essential role of the industry as well as ISRI. The present and the future of the industry are in great hands because of the work of Dan and our young executives. I congratulate Dan, and look forward to working with him for years to come.”

Garvin is second generation in the scrap recycling industry and co-owner of Colorado Iron & Metal with his brother, Marty Garvin. They have two locations, servicing Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming. Dan is married to Susan and they have a five-year-old daughter, Blake.

Garvin currently serves as a director at large on the ISRI board of directors, as well as vice-chair of ISRI’s government relations committee. In addition to his current ISRI volunteer leadership roles, Garvin previously served as the ISRI Rocky Mountain Chapter president, co-chair of the ISRI council of chapter presidents and membership committee, as well as vice-chair of the communications committee.

“Receiving this award is an honor of a lifetime from such a great organization like ISRI,” said Garvin.

ISRI’s Young Executive of the Year Award was created to promote the accomplishments of successful young professionals in the recycling industry by highlighting their contributions and dedication, along with a high degree of demonstrated leadership potential. The Award will be presented to Mr. Garvin on Tuesday, April 27, as part of the ISRI 2021 Convention and Exposition.

The Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, has released a new policy brief titled “A Trade Policy Framework for the U.S. Aluminum Industry,” which highlights its key priorities to ensure a level global playing field for its members and the U.S. aluminum industry.

“Three years after the implementation of the Section 232 tariffs on most aluminum imports into the U.S., it is time to take a fresh look at trade policy to support a robust domestic aluminum industry,” Tom Dobbins, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, says. “The Biden administration and the new Congress have an opportunity to harness the growth potential for aluminum as a sustainable solution for the 21^st century and capitalize on the more than $3 billion of private U.S. aluminum investment over the past decade. The federal government can take action immediately to put American aluminum on an equal footing with overseas competitors.”    

In the document, the Aluminum Association offers a number of suggestions regarding the Section 232 tariffs and trade policy more generally:

1. Implement immediate reforms to Section 232 exclusion process. The current Section 232 product exclusion process has inadvertently made the United States a magnet for imports, the association contends, adding that the process “actively incentivizes companies to turn first to import aluminum products like sheet, plate and foil that are manufactured in abundance in the United States.” The association notes that the Commerce Department granted 8.3 billion pounds of aluminum can sheet exclusions (including massive volumes for Chinese product) in 2020 alone, which was more than twice the size of the entire annual U.S. market. If importers were to fully use the exclusions granted by the Commerce Department, those customers would not need to purchase 1 pound of American-made aluminum can sheet for the next two years, the Aluminum Association contends.
2. Carefully consider countrywide exemptions to the Section 232 aluminum tariffs on countries committed to market-based trade. The Aluminum Association says it “has long favored a targeted, durable approach to trade remedies and strong enforcement of the trade rules” and suggests that the U.S. Trade Representative consider negotiating the removal of Section 232 aluminum tariffs with countries that trade fairly and have taken action to address unfairly subsidized imports that destabilize their domestic markets as part of a comprehensive policy approach that supports the U.S. aluminum value chain.
3. Continue robust trade enforcement and maintain Section 301 tariffs on aluminum imports. The government should continue to fully enforce existing trade rules using tools that include anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders, the Aluminum Association says. AD/CVD orders have been successfully deployed in the aluminum foil and common alloy sheet markets as a backstop to unfairly traded imports. The administration should maintain Section 301 tariffs on imports of aluminum from China, ramping up evasion and circumvention efforts, until harmful structural subsidies that drive overcapacity are addressed, the association adds.
4. Prioritize multilateral efforts to combat unfair global trade practices and harmful industrial subsidies. The Biden administration has an opportunity to lead a coalition of nations committed to a rules- and market-based global trading system against unfair industrial practices in China, according to the Aluminum Association. Overcapacity in the global aluminum market remains a major challenge. Aluminum smelter output in China hit records last summer, and Chinese producers are slated to bring online 3 million metric tons of new primary aluminum capacity this year. Meanwhile, China’s exports of semifabricated aluminum products are gaining market share around the world. In a recent letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the Aluminum Association urged the Biden administration to work with allies on these issues, consistent with a recent commitment by G7 trade leaders to collectively address “harmful industrial subsidies, including those causing excess capacity.”
5. Launch the new Aluminum Import Monitoring system and carefully track aluminum trade flows. The Commerce Department has delayed the launch the Aluminum Import Monitoring (AIM) system, a program that was funded with bipartisan support for Fiscal Year 2021, until June 28. The Aluminum Association calls for the system to be launched “expeditiously and in consultation with the full value chain of the aluminum industry,” noting that the AIM “will serve as an early warning mechanism to help spot trends and shifts in trade flows that might warrant industry or government action.” 
6. Outline a comprehensive policy, with long-term federal investment, to ensure a stable and resilient domestic aluminum capacity amidst a global supply chain. The Aluminum Association says it is in the economic and national security interest of the U.S. to have a resilient and self-sufficient domestic aluminum supply chain, suggesting that the federal government can lead in this area by investing to modernize U.S. aluminum primary smelting and secondary recycling operations.

More information is available at www.aluminum.org/agenda. 

Thanks to the increase of IV in the deCON iV+ in every recycling cycle, the material’s IV  losses are recovered, and quality is optimized, according to the company.

Fagersta, Sweden-based Seco Tools says it is “uniquely placed to make a strong contribution to the circular economy” via the recycling of its discarded end-of-life carbide tool components.

Recycling will play a key role in reaching Seco Tools' ambitious goal of being 90 percent circular by the year 2030, the company says, adding that its planning includes a number of changes to processes and business models.

“It’s a challenging target, but we see this as very important for our company and our business,” says Ted Forslund, sustainability and audit coordinator at Seco Tools. “What is good for Seco Tools is that we already have very good recycling processes, so now it’s about creating a good partnership with our clients so that they understand the value of us buying back tools, so that it becomes a closed circle where nothing goes to waste.”

Seco Tools says it can put itself “in a strong position” to have a high recycling rate by buying back tools that have reached the end of their productive lives and recycling or repurposing them into new tools. “If we increase that kind of trade where we buy back [scrap] and get customers to understand the advantages of it, we can reduce the climate impact, as we won’t need to use new materials and metals. It’s a win-win in many ways,” says Forslund.

The company cites an “ever-growing awareness of environmental concerns” as meaning suppliers and customers are keen to see initiatives that address them. “This has proved very positive so far with customers,” says Forslund. “They know the tools we produce using recycled materials are of the same very high standard, that there is no drop-off in quality. There is now also a market for the buyback of tools that have reached the end of their useful lives, and that is a positive thing for them too. It’s about getting this into our business relationships in a positive way.”

The company also says cost-efficient and better quality collection and treatment systems and effective segmentation of end-of-life products will enable Seco Tools to support the economics of circular design.

“It is essential to work with our suppliers and customers in order to take on the global challenge,” says Forslund. “If we do, we can create more value with less waste within a safe operating space for our planet—again, it’s a win-win situation.”