EMR, Chinook Sciences Break Ground on ASR Plant

Innovative Environmental Solutions (IES), a joint venture between United Kingdom-based European Metal Recycling (EMR) and New Jersey-based Chinook Sciences Ltd., has started construction on what the companies say will be the largest “end-stage recycling plant” for auto shredder residue (ASR). The plant is being constructed at EMR’s West Midlands, U.K., scrap processing facility.

The facility has been designed to process 350,000 metric tons per year of shredder residue from end-of-life vehicles and appliances by deploying Chinook Sciences' RODECS recycling and gasification technology. The shredded material will produce 40 Megawatt hours of electricity and recover more than 190,000 metric tons of plastics, glass, aggregates and metals.

EMR says that while 75 percent of the material from the automobiles is easily-accessed metal, recovering the remaining 25 percent of primarily non-metallic material has historically been more of a challenge.

The companies say that IES' deployment of Chinook Sciences' RODECS recycling and gasification technology will be integral to EMR's ability to achieve its recycling goals while displacing fossil fuel power generation, resulting in an estimated reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 2 million metric tons. In addition to the West Midlands plant, IES has gained planning permission at additional sites for similar facilities.

“The West Midlands facility is part of EMR's commitment to the environment as well as providing a sector leading sustainable solution for end of life consumer goods,” says Chris Sheppard, CEO of EMR. He adds, “EMR continue to be a company that takes the lead in developing and applying advanced technologies to ensure that we remain at the forefront of the recycling industry.”

“We are very pleased to have begun construction of the end-stage-recycling facility at the West Midlands site," says Rifat Chalabi, chairman and CEO of Chinook Sciences. “The facility will encompass the deployment of four of Chinook Sciences innovative RODECS systems to ensure all valuables in the feedstock are recovered, including the energy rich organic materials that are ultimately the source of the electricity. The process is clean and efficient and will set a new benchmark for the recycling of end of life vehicles and consumer goods.”