Paris-based Suez has announced that it is opening an advanced recycling facility for lightweight packaging in Ölbronn, Germany. With an annual processing capacity of about 100,000 metric tons, the new recycling facility will meet German requirements by optimizing the sorting of waste streams for improved waste recovery. 

Since Jan. 1, German legislation has strongly encouraged the development of recycling activities with a recycling rate now set at 50 percent for lightweight packaging in circulation and 58.5 percent for plastics, according to stats in a news release from Suez. At the European level, legislation encourages a recycling rate of 65 percent of municipal waste by 2035. As a result of these regulations, Suez has developed a recycling facility that brings together new solutions. With a new optical sorting system, the Ölbronn facility can sort up to 14 different categories of material, including 11 types of plastic.

The annual processing capacity of 100,000 metric tons is equal to the quantity of lightweight packaging thrown away each year by more than 3 million German citizens. By optimizing the identification, separation and preparation of materials in order to improve their recovery, the recycling is more efficient. Also, in 2018, Suez reports that it sorted about 8 million tons of waste in Europe.

“We are proud to put the group’s innovation to use for our customers through this new recycling facility,” says Jean-Marc Boursier, chief operating officer and senior executive vice president of the Suez Group-Northern Europe and IWS Europe. “It demonstrates our commitment to support them in achieving their targets set by the Packing Act with a greater precision for recovery. It also contributes to the region’s development, creating 50 local jobs.”

Rita Schwarzelu¨hr-Sutter, parliamentary state secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, welcomes the new group. “With the new sorting plant, Suez … actively contributes to the successful implementation of the Packing Act,” she says.

Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), Irving, Texas, has announced that Mary A. Lindsey, senior vice president and chief financial officer at CMC, plans to retire, effective Aug. 31. CMC and its subsidiaries manufacture, recycle and market steel and metal products. 

Lindsey joined the company in September 2009 as vice president-tax. She was appointed vice president-tax and investor relations in June 2015, vice president and chief financial officer in January 2016 and senior vice president and chief financial officer in September 2017. 

The company has announced that Paul J. Lawrence will assume the role of vice president and chief financial officer for the company on Sept. 1, reporting to Barbara R. Smith, chairman, president and CEO at CMC. In this position, Lawrence will have responsibility for all financial and information technology (IT) functions of the company, according to a news release from CMC. Lindsey will remain employed with the company for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition for Lawrence.

“I want to congratulate Paul Lawrence on his new role,” Smith says. “We are confident, based on his background and experience, Paul will play a key role in CMC’s future success, and we wish to take this opportunity to thank Mary for her valuable contributions to CMC over the past decade.”

Lawrence joined the CMC in February 2016 as vice president of finance. He was appointed vice president of finance and treasurer in September 2016 and his role was expanded to include financial planning and analysis in January 2017.  Prior to joining the company, from 2003 to 2016, Lawrence worked for both Gerdau Long Steel North America, a U.S. steel producer, and Gerdau Ameristeel Corp., where he held a variety of financial roles, including assistant vice president and corporate controller, and deputy corporate controller. From 1998 to 2002, Lawrence held several financial positions with Co-Steel Inc., which was acquired by Gerdau SA. Lawrence graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree of commerce from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, in 1992 and is a chartered professional accountant, according to a news release from CMC.

During the 43rd conference of the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI), Pensacola, Florida, Oliver Krestin, one of Hensel Recycling’s managing directors, was appointed to the post of president of the association. The conference was June 15-18 in Reno, Nevada.

Precious metals recycler Hensel Recycling is based in Germany with subsidiaries in Australia, France, Great Britain, Malaysia, Austria, South Korea, the USA and China. The company also has sales offices in South Africa and the Czech Republic.

Krestin will represent the institution’s interests for the next year. He served as vice president of the IPMI for the last year and has been an officer of the European chapter of the IPMI since 2016.

“I have been working in the precious metals industry for more than 27 years. That’s why I’m so pleased to hold the office of IPMI president for a year and to be able to contribute my experience and know-how even more intensively,” Krestin says.

The association offers an international platform for companies and research institutes to exchange information on current trends in the sector and to work together to develop solutions for the future. Particularly in the last two years, a range of changes and restructuring measures have been carried out to allow advantageous positioning for the future, according to a press release issued by Hensel Recycling regarding the appointment.

“My aim is to press ahead with the new structures and to further consolidate the IPMI’s leading position in the precious metals industry,” Krestin said in his acceptance speech, “because precious metals are an important part of our everyday lives from environmental technologies, such as catalytic converters containing precious metals, which are now being replaced with platinum-coated fuel cells, to cancer treatments which use platinum. This means it is even more important to offer all market players a comprehensive network, such as the IPMI, in order to work together to guarantee the sustainability of the precious metals industry.”

Austrian company ALPLA and PTT Global Chemical (GC), Bangkok, say they will collaborate on a feasibility study regarding construction of a recycling plant in Thailand. The companies announced the plan at the Circular Living Symposium 2019 – Upcycling Our Planet in Bangkok at the end of June.

ALPLA produces custom-made packaging systems, bottles, closures and molded parts at 178 sites across 46 countries. The packaging is used for food and drinks, cosmetics and personal care products, household detergents, washing and cleaning agents, pharmaceutical products, engine oils and lubricants. The company also operates its own recycling plants, PET Recycling Team with sites in Austria and Poland, and in joint ventures in Mexico and Germany. ALPLA has been cooperating with Texplast of Germany on PET recycling since July 2018.

GC serves as PTT Group’s chemical flagship. The company says it has committed to the principles of the circular economy to optimize resources. Examples of its commitment include developing bioplastics and implementing effective waste management systems, according to the company.

“GC will work with ALPLA to conduct a study on investing in the first high-quality circular plastic recycling plant in Thailand, including materials such as rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) and rHDPE (recycled high-density polyethylene). We will make a decision in the third quarter of this year after reviewing the results of the study,” says Supattanapong Punmeechaow, president and CEO of GC.

Demand for recycled plastics is growing, the companies say, including in Southeast Asia. “In particular, excellent quality of recyclates plays a big role,” says ALPLA Regional Manager Bernd Wachter. “We have expertise in the manufacture of food-grade recyclates, and we are experts in the processing of these materials into new packaging. Together with GC, we could implement a flagship initiative for the country and the entire region.”

In 2018 ALPLA signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme. ALPLA set a target to expand its recycling activities, with an earmarked investment of 50 million euros. Moreover, all packaging solutions should be fully recyclable by 2025. The volume of processed postconsumer recycled materials is to rise to 25 percent of total material usage, the company says.