> METALS
BIR Surveys Members About Container Theft
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, has expressed concerns over an increase in theft of recyclable commodities from containers shipped overseas. BIR says the situation appears to be particularly noteworthy in the southern part of China.
To address the issue, BIR is surveying member companies anonymously to obtain more information. In a letter addressed to members, Francis Veys, director general of BIR, says many have taken precautionary measures such as using heavy-duty locks to prevent the removal of container doors. Veys also says members are reporting high-value materials such as high-grade copper scrap as being targeted, “which leads us to believe that there is complicity among the few people who are aware of the contents of the containers.” The BIR has approached the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for assistance and says further actions will be taken if responses indicate a need.
David Chiao, vice president of Uni-All Group Ltd., a brokerage firm based in Atlanta, says two of his customers sustained losses in February of materials worth more than $100,000 (¤76,275) each. He believes the thefts may have occurred near Nanhai, possibly during the stevedoring process. Importers claimed dirt, rocks or iron ore were added to containers to make up missing weight. Claims to insurance companies for the stolen materials have been rejected, Chiao says.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Steel Recycling Industries (ISRI), based in Washington, D.C., also is starting to investigate the issue, says Scott Horne, ISRI’s general counsel and vice president for government affairs. “We are talking to a number of U.S. government agencies; we are talking with foreign governments, both with people in the country and at their embassies,” Horne says.
> ELECTRONIC SCRAP
IERC Gathering Highlights Stricter EU E-Scrap Rules
 Keynote speaker Julio Garcia Burgues, left, with Dr. Victor Haefeli, IERC Steering Committee Chairman. |
The 11th International Electronics Recycling Congress (IERC), organised by Swiss company ICM AG, took place in Salzburg, Austria, from 18-20 January 2012, attracting a record attendance of more than 475 delegates from 35 countries. The event also drew 56 exhibitors to the parallel trade show.
A key topic of discussion was the proposed revision of the European Union’s (EU) Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. The changes, designed to tighten exports of used goods and strengthen recovery, were adopted by the European Parliament a few days after the meeting. The new version requires that EU member states increase their collection of e-scrap to 45% of WEEE generated annually by 2015. By 2019, the amount grows to 85%. The legislation also calls for large retailers to collect discarded phones and other small electronic devices, and introduces export restrictions.
In his keynote address at IERC, Julio Garcia Burgues, director of the Waste Management Unit of the European Commission, called the recast of the WEEE Directive, “a true milestone in our road to an efficient recycling society.”
> PLASTICS
Brazil Closed-Loop Project Targets Agrochem Bottles
DuPont has been recognized for its role in an effort to recycle empty agrochemical multilayer bottles in Brazil. DuPont’s Fusabond modifiers are being used in the closed-loop process known as Virtuous Cycle.
For the project, a consortium of 22 companies is recycling the agrochemical bottles into industrial applications, such as flexible corrugated pipes. Collection is managed by Brazil’s National Institute for the Processing of Empty Packaging (inPEV). DuPont’s Fusabond is being used to help bond the dissimilar polymers.
DuPont received the 2010 Premio ECO Award in the Sustainability in Products category for its role in the closed-loop recycling process.
The Virtuous Cycle Project started in 2002, and since then more than 150,000 tons of empty packaging has been collected, says Jose Torradas, senior technical consultant with DuPont Packaging. The recycling has effectively eliminated the need for 374,000 barrels of crude oil and more than 160,000 tons of CO2 equivalents, Torradas says.
“We are still operating at a strong and steady run rate,” says Torradas of the program. According to inPEV, Brazil is recycling its agrochemical chemical packaging at a 95% rate.
Torradas says while this application has been specific to Brazil thus far, it could be extended to other regions provided there is an authority to manage collection.
> MUNICIPAL
Shanks Commissions Kettering, U.K., MRF
U.K.-based Shanks Waste Management has commissioned its new £7 million (¤8.4 million) Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Kettering, Northamptonshire, U.K. At full capacity, the facility could create 35 new jobs and boost Shanks’ recycling capacity in the United Kingdom to more than 1.2 million tonnes.
The MRF is expected to process more than 200,000 tonnes of industrial and commercial recyclate per year and achieve a 70% recovery rate. The facility also will sort commingled dry mixed recyclables to extract the maximum useful materials, including ferrous and nonferrous metals, cardboard, paper, plastic and wood.
Commissioning of the Kettering MRF follows the recent official opening of Shanks’ MRF and its anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities in Glasgow, Scotland, and the commencement of construction of its new 60,000-tonne-per-year AD facility in Bicester, England.
“At Shanks, we continue to invest in highly automated recycling and recovery technology to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and incineration,” says Ian Goodfellow, Shanks’ U.K. managing director. “We see waste as a valuable resource and are very pleased that with the opening of our new MRF in Kettering we can recover even more material.”
> METALS
IAEA Publishes Radiation Safety Guide for Metal Recyclers
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published a guidebook discussing steps metals recyclers should take to protect themselves against radioactive material being delivered to their yards.
The guide, “Control of Orphan Sources and Other Radioactive Material in the Metal Recycling and Production Industries,” lists responsibilities for recyclers, manufacturers, governments and regulatory bodies.
The guide recommends companies apply a graded approach based on the size of the individual metal recycling and production facility, as well as on the radioactive material that might be encountered. In practice, this means that small- and medium-sized facilities should have some awareness of the problem and be able to visually recognise suspect material and know who to contact in the event of a discovery.
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) says large facilities should be equipped with radiation detectors and have sufficient radiation protection expertise available to undertake an initial response. For international shipments, the guide requires that recyclers provide a statement indicating whether the scrap metal has been subjected to radiation monitoring, and says operators of large facilities should conduct appropriate radiation monitoring. The guide can be downloaded at www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1509_web.pdf.
> PLASTICS
Centriforce Expands Plastics Recycling Facility
The Liverpool, U.K.-based plastics recycler Centriforce Products has opened a plastics recycling facility at its Liverpool production center. The company has invested £1 million (¤1.2 million) in the project.
 Operations Director Andrew Shackleton with Member of Parliament Louise Ellman, opening Centriforce’s new plastics recycling facility. |
According to Ronnie Doctor with Centriforce, the one-year project involved the installation of various types of equipment, including sorters, agglomerators, shredders and conveyor lines. Doctor says the equipment will allow the company to handle a wider range of plastics.
Doctor says plastics recyclers in the U.K. have been challenged with the influx of lower quality plastic scrap. The new equipment, he says, should help the company meet its finished product demands. The new facility will sort pre- and post-consumer mixed plastic scrap from industrial and municipal sources and is designed to prepare a quality feedstock.
Louise Ellman, a member of Parliament who attended the grand opening, says, “Centriforce is putting its faith in the U.K.’s growing recycling industry and is making a valuable contribution towards a more robust infrastructure for U.K. plastics recycling in the future. [Its] continued investment will stop thousands of tonnes of [scrap] from going to landfill every year and help to create green jobs for U.K. companies.”
> AUTO RECYCLING
Toyota Tsusho to Build Auto Recycling Plant in China
The Japanese firm Toyota Tsusho has announced the creation of a joint venture with the Japanese firm Showa Metals, as well as Chinese companies, to establish an automotive dismantling and recycling company in Chengdu, China.
According to a January 2012 press release from Toyota Tsusho, the joint venture will be 30% owned by Toyota Tsusho Group and 5% owned by Showa Group, with Chinese companies owning the remaining 65% of the joint venture.
The joint venture is expected to begin construction of an end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling facility by the spring of 2012, with construction completed by the third quarter of 2012.
The ELV recycling facility is expected to have a maximum capacity of between 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles per month.
> GLASS
European Group Releases Glass Recycling Report
The Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+) has released a report for the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) analyzing strategies for increasing the collection of glass in Europe.
The report, “Good Practices in Collection and Closed-Loop Glass Recycling in Europe,” says separated collection schemes must be widely supported if Europe is to build a closed-loop process for glass packaging. The report concludes that glass bottles and jars collected separately will result in both higher quantity and quality of post-consumer glass cullet.
“Last year, more than 25 billion bottles and jars were collected in Europe, and while close to 100% of the glass collected is used, the vast majority of it, more than 80%, is actually recycled in a bottle-to-bottle production system supporting a circular economy,” says Adeline Farrelly, FEVE secretary general.
The study is available at http://www.acrplus.org.
> PAPER
Mercer Enters Agreement to Acquire Fibrek
Mercer International, based in British Columbia, and Fibrek have reached an agreement for Mercer, a manufacturer of market pulp, to acquire Fibrek Inc., a Montreal-based pulp manufacturer. Mercer operates one market pulp mill in Canada and two market pulp mills in Germany, and produces more than 1.5 million air-dried tonnes of kraft pulp per year.
Fibrek’s board of directors decided to support Mercer’s offer, which it says represents an 81% premium to its closing price and a 30% premium over an offer made by Resolute Forest Products. As of mid-March Montreal-based Resolute (formerly known as AbitibiBowater) continues to pursue Fibrek, with support from some Fibrek shareholders.
“This has been a challenging time for Fibrek as we have sought to maximise value for our shareholders and advance the interests of our other stakeholders,” says Hubert Lacroix, chairman of Fibrek. “We are pleased to support Mercer’s offer and recommend it to our shareholders.”
“We had a responsibility to our shareholders to pursue alternative options in their best interests and that is exactly what we have done in supporting this offer from Mercer, a leader in the industry who is committed to market pulp,” adds Pierre Gabriel Côté, Fibrek president and CEO.
“The acquisition of Fibrek clearly fits within our strategy of focusing on world-class production assets that produce high quality pulp,” says Jimmy Lee, Mercer’s president and CEO. “Additionally, the ability of Fibrek’s St. Felicien (Quebec) mill to produce and sell surplus renewable energy is in line with our goal of increasing our revenues from energy sales.”
> PLASTICS
Axion International Signs Deal with Argentina Firm
U.S.-based Axion International, a manufacturer of 100% recycled-content plastic railroad ties, has signed a distribution agreement with Inversora Intervias S.A., based in Argentina. The agreement calls for Inversora to distribute Axion’s railroad ties in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Inversora Intervias SA will establish marketing and sales functions for Axion’s Ecotrax throughout the Mercosur region of South America. A collaboration agreement also was signed that provides the process for evaluating the formation of an operating entity that will manufacture, sell and market Axion’s Ecotrax products in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
“This is a significant step forward for Axion as we continue to expand our business globally,” Steve Silverman, Axion CEO and president, says. “Inversora Intervias S.A. is a perfect partner for Axion. We have spent a good deal of time exploring this market and in finding the proper partner. Inversora Intervias, through its connection with Cometrans Group, brings all the key elements you look for in a partner.”
Grupo Cometrans is an operator of transit and freight lines in the region. The company manages more than 2,200 kilometres of track.
> NONMETALLICS
Crivellaro Brazil Opens New Branch Location
Recycling company Crivellaro Brazil, based in Valinhos, has opened a new branch, adding 45,000 square metres of workspace. With the addition of the second facility, the company has increased its capacity for receiving, storing and recycling paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and various metals to 58,000 square metres.
“Today, the environmental concern is much greater than when the company was founded,” says Juliana Crivellaro, human resources manager of the company. “Industries are constantly pressured by regulators and by the consumers, to the correct and responsible disposal of their [discards]. Thus, the services provided by Crivellaro are increasingly in demand.”
Crivellaro says the Brazilian recycling industry has benefitted from the effects of a recently enacted law, the National Policy on Solid Waste, which holds waste generators responsible for allocating discarded materials.
The family-owned company was founded in 1957 and presently has 230 employees. Services include removal, separation, classification and characterisation of paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and various metals. The company also processes organic waste and specialises in the destruction of products unfit for consumption.
The company says it was the first recycling firm in Brazil to achieve ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certification. It processes about 30,000 tonnes per year from multinational corporations.