Newsworthy

FERROUS

BIR Autumn Round-Table Sessions: Ferrous recyclers call for free trade conditions

There is “not much fun or profit” to be had in the ferrous scrap business presently, declared Christian Rubach of TSR Recycling in his final address as president of the BIR (Bureau of International Recycling) Ferrous Division during the Brussels-based association’s 2014 Autumn Round-Table Sessions.

During his eight years in that role, Rubach noted that he had witnessed “everything you can have” — from the early “boom” years to the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 and then periods of stagnation punctuated by a good year in 2010.

In introducing the guest presentation of German Steel Federation President Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff, Rubach contended that the scrap and steel industries “sat more or less in the same boat” regarding the challenges they face. The guest speaker confirmed that, indeed, both sectors were battling the “bad behaviour” of countries that sought to impose protectionist measures designed to benefit their domestic industries.

“For the steel and steel scrap markets, we have to rely on free movement,” Kerkhoff insisted.

He pointed out that the lower growth trend now being seen for the world steel industry might become “the new normal.” Arguing that surplus steelmaking capacity was increasingly becoming a point of focus, he surmised that China’s overcapacity in 2014 could be as high as 280 million tonnes.

William Schmiedel of Sims Metal Management, the Ferrous Division’s new president, provided a market report on the electric arc furnace sector in the United States and in the Pacific Rim, noting the challenges the sector had in terms of competing with integrated steel operations.

Pointing to moves made recently by Egypt, Mexico and Turkey, Schmiedel said, “We may see an entirely new wave of protectionism that will be legislated by many countries against China.”

In other market reports, European Ferrous Recovery & Recycling Federation (EFR) Immediate-Past President Tom Bird of U.K.-based Van Dalen Recycling explained that the low iron ore price and subsequent large-scale exports of Chinese finished steel product “has led to prices for steel scrap being forced down across EU regions,” though he expressed the hope that the market was “not far from the bottom.”

For the fiscal year 2014/15, ferrous scrap imports into India were expected to total between 4.25 million and 4.5 million tonnes—exceeding the 3.8 million tonnes seen in 2013/14, but falling short of the record 6.9 million tonnes of 2012/13, reported Zain Nathani of the Nathani Group of Cos., based in India.

Parliamentary elections in Ukraine were likely to delay the distribution of new export quotas, according to Andrey Moiseenko of Ukrmet, based in Ukraine. Since May, he noted, overseas shipments had been running at 100,000 tonnes per month, with Turkey being the biggest buyer.

The BIR Autum Round-Table Sessions were held in Paris Oct. 27-28, 2014.

 

PLASTICS

RePlas 2014: China’s plastic scrap imports rebound in 2014

Despite hurdles caused by economic factors and regulatory scrutiny, imported plastic scrap is flowing into China at a slightly accelerated rate in 2014 compared to the year before.

Cong Ze of the Tianjin Information Office of China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), provided attendees of the RePlas 2014 (Autumn) event in China with a statistical breakdown of plastic scrap imports into the nation.

Cong noted that nearly all types of plastic scrap imports into China declined in 2013, but that imports of some grades (including pellets, which are up by 8% by volume in 2014) have rebounded. He attributed the rebound, which he says started in February of 2014, in part to adjustments made by shippers in reaction to Operation Green Fence.

Despite the uncertainties caused by Green Fence, Cong said 120 countries sent plastic scrap to China in 2013, with Hong Kong being the leading point of departure for shipments into China with some 100,000 tonnes shipped in the first 10 months of 2014.

As a trend, Cong also said state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are securing the volume while the private sector share is down. Recyclers gathered at the RePlas event said this is tied to a 2014 lending climate in China that favors SOEs with open lines of credit while private sector manufacturers and recyclers have struggled to obtain financing and letters of credit.

Cong said the GAC remains concerned about certain plastic scrap import practices, including low values declared on customs forms, water and other contaminants in shipments and concealed high-value items.

The GAC official also cited as a trend the increased use of Vietnam as a staging area for plastic scrap shipments before they enter China.

The Autumn RePlas 2014 event, organized by the China Scrap Plastics Association (CSPA), was Nov. 6-7 at the Coli Hotel in Shenzhen, China.

 

METALS

Alba sells two metal recycling sites in Germany

According to the BVSE (Germany’s Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Management), the Alba Group has sold its metals recycling locations in Freiburg and Hannover, Germany, to Remondis Group of Germany.

With this step the Alba Group, headquartered in Germany, says it further sharpens its strategic realignment.

“Our goal is to enhance value creation and growth and activities that are not on this path to reduce,” said Dr. Axel Schweitzer, Chairman of the Alba Group plc & Co. KG. “This includes the continuous optimization of the portfolio. In this case, we have found a solution in which all employees are covered by Remondis. We are particularly pleased.”

 

EVENTS

Fourth Bureau of Middle East Recycling Conference set for February 2015

The Bureau of Middle East Recyclers (BMR), a nonprofit organization representing suppliers and traders of the Middle East metal recycling industry, will hold its fourth conference 27-28 Feb. 2015. The event will be held at the Interncontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The BMR’s mission is to promote the metal recycling business of the Middle East, protect the environment and share market information. The BMR also seeks to be a key resource for members of the Middle East metal scrap industry. Toward that end, the BMR says the late February event is a must-attend gathering for recycling stakeholders, recycling experts and industry leaders.

Those seeking BMR membership information and conference registration information can visit the BMR website at www.bmr.ae or send an e-mail to BMR President Salam Al Sharif at president@bmr.ae.

 

AUTO SHREDDING

ICM to host 2015 Auto Recycling Congress

The conference organizing group ICM AG will be holding its 15th International Automobile Recycling Congress (IARC) March 25-27, 2015, in Berlin. The 2015 Congress has been designed as a platform to exchange the latest information on trends and issues affecting the auto recycling industry.

The IARC 2015 Congress will open with two keynote speakers. Erik Jonnaert, secretary general of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Belgium, will discuss the role of the automotive industry in the context of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling. Wolfram Thomas, group chief officer for environment, energy and new business areas at Volkswagen, will focus on the topic of environmental protection and driving innovation.

The Congress also is organizing plant tours to recycling facilities near Berlin. Facilties scheduled to be visited include Scholz Recycling’s post-shredder technology plant in Espenhain, Germany, and TSR Recycling’s Brandenburg, Germany, ferrous recycling plant. Event details can be found at www.icm.ch.

 

NONFERROUS

Umicore acquires full ownership of Todini and Co.

Umicore, a Brussels-based materials technology and recycling company, has reached an agreement with the Todini family to purchase the family’s 52% stake in the Italian firm Todini and Co. The purchase makes Umicore the 100% owner of the company.

Since 2005, Umicore and the Todini Group spa have operated a joint venture focused on distributing chemical products such as metal salts and nonferrous metal oxides. Todini and Co., based in Monza, Italy, has six subsidiaries outside Italy and is involved in the distribution of industrial chemical products. Its customers serve a variety of industries including surface treatment, pigments, glass and ceramics and animal nutrition.

Todini and Co. will be integrated into Umicore’s Cobalt & Specialty Materials business unit. The consolidation will enable the newly acquired business to expand its distribution activities and strengthen its supply chain, says Umicore.

Joris van Hove, Umicore’s global business director, says, “We are very pleased with this acquisition and the benefits it will bring to both companies in the different markets. Twelve months after our acquisition of U.S. distributor Palm Commodities, this underlines our commitment to further expand our activities, to strengthen our product portfolio and to add an additional step in the overall value chain.”

Carlo Todini with the Todini Group also applauds the deal. “Todini Group spa and Umicore can be proud of a successful and profitable collaboration over the past 10 years. Becoming part of Umicore is the logical next step in the development of the JV Todini and Co.”

METALS

Meldgaard recovers metals from US WTE ash

Capturing ferrous and nonferrous metals from waste-to-energy (WTE) ash is a growing business around the world.

The company Meldgaard of Denmark says this sector has been its bread and butter for more than 20 years.

The company says it has been extracting the ferrous and nonferrous metals from the ash for decades so it could produce an aggregate for the Danish construction industry. Today the company says it is helping its WTE clients realize revenue from its ash recycling processes, including those in the United States.

The company says a significant difference between European and American WTE ash is that in Europe the bottom ash is kept separate from the fly ash — however in the U.S., the WTE ash is typically combined, leading to recycling challenges when dealing with the lime content of the fly ash. However Meldgaard says it has dealt with this difference via its detailed designs for advanced ash handling processes.

The company now has three operating ash recycling plants in the U.S., each one slightly different since ash is different from each WTE plant. Each plant is also processing ash at a different stage in the ash handling process, either directly from the plant without any buffer storage through to processing on monofills with ash that has been stockpiled.

The company’s latest ash recycling plant is integrated so that the removal of ash for disposal is not interfered with.

“The trucks loading the ash have no idea we have already extracted the valuable metals from the ash to share with the WTE plant operator,” the company says in a press release.

Around 450 tonnes of ash is delivered daily by conveyor straight from the WTE plant to Meldgaard’s feed hopper for processing. The company says the facility has a throughput of around 181,000 tonnes.

 

BIR NEWS

BIR creates exhibitor group

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, has announced the creation of a special committee for companies exhibiting at BIR conventions.

The Exhibitors Committee will serve BIR members who plan to exhibit products and services at BIR events, the BIR reports. The move is intended to facilitate more input from exhibiting companies with regard to the choice of exhibition space at future BIR convention venues, the organization says.

Rolf Gren of Pallmann Group has been appointed chairman of the committee and will work with the BIR Convention Committee, where he will also hold a representative seat, the organization says.

Gren has held senior positions in the Swedish Electrolux Group and for the last eight years has worked in the recycling industry. Currently, he is serving as senior executive vice president for the Pallmann Group, general manager of Pallmann Industries based in Clifton, New Jersey, and as president of Pallmann Co. in Beijing.

FERROUS

Global steel production holds for October 2014

According to the WorldSteel Association, Brussels, global steel production for October 2014 for the 65 countries reporting to the organisation stands at 137 million tonnes, unchanged from figures the same time last year. Crude steel production for China, the largest producer of crude steel, stood at 67.5 million tonnes in October, a 0.3% decline from the same time last year.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.4 million tonnes of crude steel for the month, a decrease of 0.5% compared with October 2013. South Korea produced 6.2 million tonnes of crude steel in October 2014, up 4.5% from October of 2013.

In the European Union, Germany produced 3.5 million tonnes of crude steel in October 2014, a decline of 5.9% compared with October 2013. Italy produced 2.1 million tonnes of crude steel, a drop of 5.4% from October 2013. France’s crude steel production was 1.5 million tonnes, an increase of 15.0% compared with October 2013. Spain produced 1.3 million tonnes, down 0.4% compared with October 2013.

Turkey’s crude steel production for October 2014 was 2.7 million tonnes, down 11% from October 2013.

In the Americas, the U.S. produced 7.3 million tonnes of crude steel in October 2014, a decrease of 0.7% compared with October 2013. Brazil’s production for October 2014 was 3.1 million tonnes, up by 2.7% on October 2013.

The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio for the 65 countries in October 2014 was 74.7%, a decline of 2.6% from last October.

 

PLASTICS

Asian Fibres to build plant in UAE

Asian Fibres LLC has broken ground on a plastics recycling facility that, when operational, will occupy 860,000 square feet at an industrial park in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The company says the plant will be the largest production facility for regenerated polyester staple fiber (RPSF) in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

Established in 2014 as part of the UAE-based Asian Investments Group, Asian Fibres says it will manufacture and supply RPSF that is produced from post-consumer PET bottles. The raw material for its operations will come from suppliers throughout the region who are already collecting and sorting PET bottles. The company says its new plant in the Ras Al Khaimah emirate will integrate the latest innovation and technology in the recycling business and RPSF will be manufactured from both scrap bottles and virgin PET.

The facility will initially have a production capacity of 100 tonnes per day, although it is expected production at the plant will double within one year.

“Asian Fibres is committed to serving the community by reusing and transforming waste products, thus giving them a new lease of life,” says Abubakr Ahmad, Asian Investments Group’s chief operating officer. “Currently, PET bottles are collected by municipality contractors, then crushed and exported for treatment. Asian Fibres offers the capability to treat PET waste entirely and locally, ensuring we benefit the environment, community and the economy.”

 

ELECTRONICS

Electronics Recycling Asia: This year’s models

As the stream of end-of-life computers, televisions and cell phones grows exponentially in Asia, governments in that part of the world are starting to set up networks designed to ensure the best recycling outcome for such devices.

An overview of China’s vast new system was given at the Electronics Recycling Asia conference, held in Singapore in mid-November, as was the announcement of an electronics recycling standard in Singapore. The conference was organized by Switzerland-based ICM AG.

Ronnie Tay of Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA), said Singapore’s new SS587 standard has been designed to help ensure the nation properly handles the estimated 60,000 tonnes of electronic scrap it generates each year. Tay said the new system takes into account the value of these items.

“There is enormous potential for resources to be recovered [so] well-designed systems have to be put in place for collection and processing” of e-scrap, he stated.

The SS587 standard can be adopted by corporate generators and collectors of electronic scrap. At the forum two companies which have achieved compliance with SS587 through a pilot program—packaging firm GreenPac and Solvay Specialty Chemicals—received plaques from Tay.

China, with some 1.3 billion people and an economy that has converted from agrarian to industrial and commercial in just three decades, enacted a nationwide obsolete electronics recycling system that started in 2012.

According to Professor Li Jinhui of Tsinghua University, Beijing, the precious metals content in items such as printed circuit boards and cell phones can cause “flows to the informal sector,” but China’s new system of 106 licensed facilities means most scrap is now treated by the formal sector. Although this process is encouraged within China’s current five-year economic plan, it is being hindered by perceptions of inadequate protections of intellectual property.

 

METALS

Boliden to start nickel smelting business

The Boliden Group, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, has announced plans to launch an independent nickel smelting business. The new business will consist of the company purchasing nickel concentrates from external suppliers and selling nickel matte to refineries throughout the world. The company estimates annual production to be 25,000 tonnes of nickel in matte.

The Boliden Group, which has expertise in the exploration, mining, smelting and metals recycling field, operates mines and smelters in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Ireland.

The company’s combined copper and nickel smelter in Finland has been smelting nickel concentrates for more than 50 years. For several years the facility has been smelting nickel concentrates through tolling arrangements with independent companies.

Boliden estimates that in 2013 about 250,000 tonnes of nickel concentrates were processed into nickel matte, containing about 25,000 tonnes of nickel, for further treatment at external nickel refineries.

The company says with its current tolling contract expiring, it will begin buying concentrates from a number of mines and sell the nickel matte to nickel refineries.

The global market for nickel is about 2 million tonnes per year, with Chinese stainless steel producers being significant buyers. Boliden forecasts that with global smelter capacity declining and new nickel mines coming on stream there will be an increased demand for nickel smelting.

“The timing is good and the change of business model gives us an exciting opportunity to start sourcing concentrates and supplying the growing market. As the only nickel smelter in Western Europe, Boliden’s facility in Harjavalta, Finland, is strategically positioned, with a short distance to a port and the lowest sulphur dioxide emissions per tonne of nickel of any nickel smelter in the world, says Kerstin Konradsson, president of Boliden Smelters.

 

METALS

CMRA 2014: An expanding endeavor

China’s government is encouraging more systematic and regulated methods to collect obsolete electronics and appliances in that nation, according to several presentations given at the 2014 convention of the China Nonferrous Metals Association Recycling Metal Branch (CMRA), held in early November in Guangzhou, China.

A presentation prepared by Xu Kaihua of GEM High-Tech Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, China, and given by his colleague Jiang Zhengkang, outlined the national strategy for electronic scrap recycling that has been mandated to comply with China’s current five-year plan.

The strategy entails an “old-for-new” take-back system when consumer electronics are purchased and the licensing and construction of more than 100 certified or “appointed” electronic scrap processing facilities thus far. The strategy also has extended producer responsibility (EPR) aspects to it, according to Jiang.

“After three years of effort by the Chinese government, the recovery, treatment and policy of discarded electronic [scrap] in China has reached the advanced international level,” stated Jiang.

Jiang and Xu claim that “90% of the [electronic scrap] has been treated by the 107 appointed recycling enterprises” in 2013, and that unsafe and environmentally unsound methods of processing circuit boards or monitors are fading.

The EPR system established in China calls for manufacturers and importers of appliances to pay from RMB7 to RMB13 ($1.15 to $2.10) for each TV, computer, air conditioner, refrigerator and washing machine produced.

The “appointed” processing facilities, meanwhile, receive a subsidy between RMB35 to RMB85 ($5.70 to $13.85) to dismantle end-of-life items collected.

Tang Aijun, Deputy Secretary General of the China Resource Recycling Association (CRRA), Beijing, provided another overview of China’s national system, noting that its “management procedure is very complicated” and displaying a flow chart to match that description.

In 2012, the first year the system was in place, televisions flowed into the qualified facilities in overwhelming numbers, comprising 90% of the units these dismantling facilities received. By contrast, washing machines made up just 3.4% of the inbound stream and refrigerators just 1.7%.

In 2013, the inbound stream produced more than 455,000 tons of cathode ray tube (CRT) glass, while yielding just 78,000 tons of scrap steel, 17,200 tons of copper and 1,430 tons of aluminium.

While the new facilities have provided a home for televisions and monitors, Tang said “compulsory collection and management” of appliances with a scrap metal value is “difficult to execute.”

Among the companies intending to benefit from managed appliance collection is GREE Electric Appliances Inc., according to presenter Wang Hongxia, general manager of that Zhuhai, China-based firm.

GREE makes air conditioners and, according to Wang, is aware that discarded “home appliance recycling channels mainly still rely on street vendors” and that recycling through these informal channels “is more profitable than direct dismantling” at the licensed centers. “At present, the [subsidy] is RMB35, but the scrap air conditioning recycling value is higher” said Wang. “I suggest to adjust the limit of the subsidy to lay the foundation for [proper] reverse logistics.”

Manufacturers such as GREE, said Wang, “should strengthen cooperation with [licensed] recycling enterprises” that can help ensure air conditioners meet a safe and environmentally sound end in China.

The 2014 CMRA Annual Convention was at the Dongfang Hotel in Guangzhou, China, 7-9 Nov.

 

EVENTS

Paper and Plastics Recycling Conferences Europe: Industry professionals convene in Italy

Nearly 200 delegates from the processing, trading, collecting and consuming sides of the paper recycling industry convened in Milan, Italy, in late October for the 11th Paper Recycling Conferences Europe. The two-day event was hosted by the Recycling Today Media Group in partnership with Smithers Pira.

The 2014 event marked the first time that the paper and plastics recycling portions were split into two completely separate conference programmes, one focusing on the plastics sector and the other on recovered fibre. Attendees were free to attend sessions and panels from either session.

Conference sessions focused on a range of topics, including the outlook and economic impacts for the paper and plastics recycling industries, quality and supply issues, processing techniques and innovations, unique partnerships and case studies, and achieving the global circular economy.

Around 50 industry professionals served as speakers, chairpersons and panelists for the program. Among the conference presenters were Surendra Borad of Gemini Corp., Ranjit Baxi of J&H Sales International, Jim Malone of DS Smith, Guillermo Valles of SAICA, Keith Freegard of Axion Recycling, Thijs Cox of Ciparo and Joanna Stephenson of LINPAC Packaging, to name a few.

The event also included numerous suppliers and sponsors presenting the latest information on processing technologies and equipment. Continuing coverage will be featured in future issues of Recycling Today Global Edition.

 

PLASTICS

Axion calls for new approaches in plastics recycling

Conflicting opinions in the debate over future recycling rates in the United Kingdom are raising questions about how challenging targets could be met, claims a U.K.-based resource recovery consulting group.

Commenting on industry concerns that England may miss its 50% recycling target by 2020, Keith Freegard, director of U.K.-based Axion Consulting, suggests radical rethinking is needed in the sector if curbside recycling rates are to be improved.

“There is much contrasting discussion, yet what’s needed is fundamental change if we are to maximize recycling rates,” Freegard says. “The proposed EU rate for 2030 of 70% recycling and nil to landfill is certainly ambitious, but how are we going to get there? The focus should be on what rate is possible.”

Currently, Freegard continues, a local authority recycling rate is measured by the amount of waste collected from the curbside. Freegard suggests this should be measured in an entirely different way by taking into account the efficiencies at each stage of the process. “The approach would be based on actual levels of materials recycled, not collected,” he notes.

“Recycling is a multi-stage process starting in U.K. households and including curbside collection, MRF sorting, re-processing and eventually back into re-manufacturing. In my view, material recovery efficiency is critical at all stages right through from the ‘urban miners’ or householders putting materials out for collection, to the MRFs sorting the commingled material through to producing the final product. This applies whether it is a plastic bottle or newspaper and provides a more accurate assessment of how much household waste is actually recycled and diverted from landfill.”

“Based on our numbers, I would suggest that a 50% recycling rate measured at the curbside is about as good as we’re going to get unless we change something really significantly,” Freegard continues.

He says the largest efficiency losses occur within the household in terms of extracting recyclable packaging items from the black-bag waste bin and placing them into the recycling stream. Low rates of participation, poor identification and capture of some types of packaging and a general lack of willingness to recycle all contribute to losses.

The revised Waste Framework Directive states that local authorities must have separate collections of dry recyclables in place by January 2015, unless it is not ‘technically, environmentally and economically practicable’ (TEEP) for them to do so.

While acknowledging that any solutions would need to work within the requirements of TEEP, Freegard argues that a fundamental change of approach is needed to meet future challenges rather than “doing more of the same.”

Strategies could include simplifying recycling for householders by changing to a negative sort. Additionally, Freegard says packaging should be re-designed with simpler materials to simplify recycling and it should be clearly labelled.

RECOVERED FIBRE

Private equity firm to acquire Nampak businesses

Ethos Private Equity, a South Africa-based private equity firm, has entered into an agreement to acquire South Africa-based Nampak Ltd.’s tissue, corrugated and sacks divisions for $143 million. The agreement excludes Nampak’s 50% share of Sancella Proprietary Ltd.

The sale is part of Nampak’s strategy of focusing on its core product segments in South Africa and the rest of Africa. The divisions being sold do not fall under Nampak’s core business areas, says the firm.

According to Ethos, the deal is expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2015.

In a statement, Ethos says it is excited about the growth potential of the three businesses, particularly under independent ownership, and intends to support them with the required investment, resources and leadership capacity needed to achieve their potential.

Nampak Ltd. manufactures packaging products from metal, glass, paper and plastic in South Africa and the rest of Africa. The company also manufactures plastic bottles in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the company is heavily involved in collection and recycling initiatives throughout Africa.

 

PAPER

UPM announces capacity cuts

Paper manufacturer UPM, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, has announced plans to slash its capacity in the publication paper market by an additional 800,000 tonnes by closing paper machines in France, Finland and the United Kingdom. The capacity closures are expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

The closures include newsprint machines in France and the U.K. Combined, the closure of the two newsprint machines will remove about 345,000 tonnes of newsprint from the market.

The company also will close a supercalendered paper machine at its Jämsä River Mills in Finland and a coated mechanical paper machine at its Kaukas mill in Finland. Combined, those cuts will total 460,000 tonnes of magazine paper, including 235,000 tonnes of supercalendered paper and 225,000 tonnes of coated mechanical paper. All four mills will continue paper production on the remaining machines at those sites.

Noting that it has been able to return to profitability, UPM says that operating rates are unacceptably low and the economic environment does not look promising for markets in 2015. The company says it hopes the cuts, along with other moves by the company, will boost profits by around €150 million ($188 million) by the end of 2015.