Newsworthy

METALS

Novelis achieves record total shipments for fiscal 2015

U.S.-based Novelis has reported net income of $148 million for fiscal year 2015, a 42% increase from the $104 million reported in fiscal 2014. Excluding certain tax-effected items, its net income increased 4% to $161 million in fiscal 2015, the company reports.

“Fiscal 2015 was a successful year as we grew our portfolio of high-recycled, premium products,” says Steve Fisher, interim president and CEO for Novelis. “We achieved record total shipments, drove benefits from expanding low-cost recycling capabilities worldwide and grew automotive shipments to record levels, strengthening our leadership position in this fast growing segment.”

Fisher says the strengthening U.S. dollar and declining local market metal premiums in the fourth quarter tempered results.

Novelis reports adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew 2% to $902 million in fiscal 2015 compared with the $885 million reported in fiscal 2014. The increase was primarily driven by higher shipments, favorable product mix in light of a “strategic shift to grow automotive shipments” and cost benefits from using a higher percentage of recycled metal inputs, according to the company. Partially offsetting these gains were higher costs associated with the startup and support of new capacity, lower pricing in some Asian markets, unfavorable foreign exchange rates and metal price lags, Novelis adds.

Fiscal 2015 revenue increased 14% to $11.1 billion. Novelis says its revenue growth was driven by a 5% increase in shipments of rolled aluminium products to 3 million tonnes in fiscal 2015. Higher average metal prices in fiscal year 2015 also contributed to the increase in revenue.

 

METALS, PEOPLE

Sims Metal Management restructures Hong Kong operations

Galdino Claro, CEO of Sims Metal Management, with headquarters in New York and Sydney, has announced that the current consulting agreement between Sims Metal Management Ltd. and Lion Consulting Asia Ltd. will not be extended beyond its expiration date of 30 June 2015. However, to ensure a seamless transition, Michal Lion, the sole principal of Lion Consulting Asia Ltd. and current chairman and director of Sims Metal Management Asia Ltd., has agreed to enter into a new consulting agreement that ends 30 Sept. 2015, at which time he will conclude his role with Sims.

Lion has held various roles within the Sims Group since 1997. Since 2003 he has been head of the company’s Centralised Marketing Entity (CME), which he initially established while consulting for Sims in Sydney in 2007. This operation was later integrated into the newly formed Sims Metal Management Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong, where Lion has managed and advised the group’s commodity hedging and risk controls and directed the purchase, sales and export of nonferrous metals and products, Sims says.

With the restructuring, effective July 1, 2015, the CME trading operations will come under the direction of Bill Schmiedel, president of Sims’ Global Trade operation, and the financial operations of the CME will report directly to Fred Knechtel, Sims Metal Management Group chief financial officer, both based in New York.

Claro says, “I am confident that the CME operations will be seamlessly integrated into Sims’ Global Trade and Group financial operations.”

 

METALS, PEOPLE

Novelis executive receives Lifetime Achievement award

Tadeu Nardocci, senior vice president of Novelis Inc., Atlanta, and president of Novelis South America, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Platts’ 2015 Global Metals Awards ceremony, held 21 May in London.

Novelis also was honored as a finalist for the Recycling Leadership Award for its recycling program; as a finalist for the Breakthrough Innovation of the Year for its automotive sheet finishing lines in Oswego, New York, and Changzhou, China; and as a finalist for the Corporate Social Responsibility Award.

“Tadeu has played an important role in leading the aluminum industry and Novelis over the course of his career,” said Steve Fisher, Novelis interim president and CEO. “He has strengthened global industry alignment and best practice sharing throughout key regions of the world.”

Nardocci was honored for his contributions and dedication to advancing the aluminium industry globally over the past three decades, according to Platts. Prior to his current role, he served as president of Novelis Europe, senior vice president of global strategy and research and development, and managing director of Alcom (Aluminum Co. of Malaysia), among other roles.

Platts says Nardocci’s dedication to the aluminium industry also was demonstrated with his role as chairman of the European Aluminum Association (EAA) in 2011 and 2012 and vice president of the Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL) in 2008.

 

PLASTICS

Euro Capital purchases UK’s Closed Loop Recycling

United Kingdom-based plastics recycling company Closed Loop Recycling, based in Dagenham, U.K., has been sold to Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based investment company Euro Capital.

As part of the sale, Closed Loop Recycling will be renamed Euro Closed Loop Recycling.

The sale has taken the form of a prepack administration deal and will protect all jobs at the Dagenham, U.K. plant, according to Euro Capital.

With the sale, Euro Closed Loop Recycling’s new owners and management team will seek the support from dairies and retailers for the Dairy Road Map (www.dairyroadmap.com), which the parties say they hope will improve the market outlook for the recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics the company produces.

Because of challenging markets for scrap plastics, the company, the largest recycler of HDPE in the U.K., had recently entered into administration.

Euro Capital says it has pledged an ongoing investment program to support Euro Closed Loop Recycling.

Chris Dow, who has been named CEO of Euro Closed Loop Recycling, says, “We are delighted that Euro Cap has come on board. The number one priority for us and our investors is to continue to support the Dairy Road Map in the U.K. In the last eight weeks, the industry has shown real commitment to recycled HDPE content. This deal offers the potential for the supply chain to meet this obligation of 30% recycled content, but this will only happen if the retailers enforce this through the whole of the supply chain.”

Dow continues, “The sale ensures the continual supply of recycled content for the milk bottle market in the U.K. to achieve the goals of the Dairy Roadmap.”

 

PAPER

Sonoco-Alcore to hike paperboard prices in Italy

Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l. has announced plans to raise the price of all of its recycled paperboard grades sold in the Italian region by €50 (US$54.48) per tonne, effective with shipments starting 15 June 2015.

“This price increase is in response to rising material and manufacturing costs and price adjustments occurring in the Italian market,” says Phil Woolley, Sonoco director, Paper Europe.

Sonoco Alcore S.a.r.l., wholly owned by Sonoco, operates 29 tubes and cores plants and five paperboard mills in Europe, including the company’s largest European uncoated recycled paperboard mill in Cirie, Italy.

 

ELECTRONICS

Alba Group opens new electronics facility

Alba Electronics Recycling GmbH, a subsidiary of Alba Group based in Eppingen, Germany, has built a new plant in Eppingen with technology it says allows for the safe recycling of flat screen displays containing mercury.

The company says the automated system has the capacity to process up to 60 flat screens per hour and splits the screens without damaging the mercury lamps inside.

Cables and stands are removed from the screens by hand before they are shipped to the new facility for further treatment. There, devices are separated into pollution-free and mercury-containing components, Alba Electronics Recycling says. Sensitive components are broken down further in a secure area, the company says, with materials either recycled or disposed of as hazardous waste. Exhaust air from the facility is filtered with activated charcoal as an additional safety measure, Alba adds.

All processes in the complex are controlled and monitored from the outside and are designed to prevent the release of mercury, the company says. Currently, only flat panel computer monitors are being treated in the facility, though Alba Electronics Recycling says it expects to begin processing larger televisions later in 2015.

Manfred Fahrner, sales manager of Alba Electronics Recycling GmbH, says the company has adapted its working methods and tools to current circumstances and uses its expertise in electronics recycling to help devise innovative methods and equipment.

Alba Electronics Recycling says that while the electronics industry has largely converted to the use of mercury-free LED backlighting in flat panel displays, mercury-containing backlighting tends to be present in screens that are between three and 15 years old, which have increased as part of the current stream of obsolete electronics.

 

PLASTICS

AMI offers new directory of European plastics recyclers

The United Kingdom-based plastics industry consulting company Applied Market Information Ltd. (AMI) has published a new edition of its directory, “Plastics Recyclers in Europe,” listing 993 plastics recycling sites involved in a variety of processing operations. The publication is part of AMI’s plastics processing series detailing plant locations and activities of Europe’s mechanical plastics recyclers.

The plastics recyclers covered in AMI’s directory include recyclers of packaging, building, agricultural, automotive, textiles, obsolete electrical and electronic equipment and a variety of other products.

As recycling technologies develop, so too has the ability to recover more plastics, with closed loop recycling of postconsumer materials becoming ever more evident. However, the majority of material recycled is still postindustrial production scrap because of its ready availability and the minimal amount of processing required to turn it back into reusable material.

The distribution of the 993 mechanical recycling sites listed in AMI’s directory is spread across Western and Central Europe. Germany is leading the way, housing more than 20% of the sites listed. The scale and size of Germany’s recycling industry is also reflected in its being home to more of the larger processors.

The AMI plastics recyclers directory sells for €325.00 (US$369) and can be ordered from www.amiplastics.com.

 

EVENTS

Recycling Today Media Group selects Madrid for 2015 Paper, Plastics Recycling Conferences Europe

The Recycling Today Media Group has selected Madrid as the host city for the 2015 editions of its co-located Paper Recycling Conference Europe and Plastics Recycling Conference Europe events.

The concurrent events, to be held at the Eurostars Madrid Tower Hotel, are organized by the Recycling Today Media Group in close cooperation with its industry programming committees.

The 2015 conferences again offer sessions examining markets for established and emerging recovered paper and plastic scrap commodities in a global context. Additional topics include emerging trends in paper and plastic packaging; updates on the plastic scrap stream recovered from obsolete electronics; case studies of successful plastic scrap and recovered fibre collection efforts; and a roundtable for paper mill operators to discuss the recovered fibre market from their viewpoints.

Additional information on the events will be available soon and will be updated regularly on the conference websites, which can be accessed through www.RecyclingTodayEvents.com.

 

PLASTICS

EuPC launches European polymer supplies group

Following a recent meeting in Warsaw, the European Plastics Converters (EuPC) group has launched the Strategic Alliance for Polymer Supplies in Europe. The alliance was formed in response to a series of force majeure declarations by European Union (EU) polymer suppliers, which EuPC says led to shortage of material on the European market. The EuPC says the alliance hopes to devise a strategy to prevent a repeat of the situation.

According to the EuPC, since early March 2015, companies within the EU polymer industry have declared force majeure on 34 separate occasions and “exacerbated an already tense situation on the EU polyethylene and polypropylene markets.” The situation has driven polymer prices to levels not seen in the past decade at a time when oil prices are still relatively low, says the EuPC.

“The unavailability of certain grades of polymers and record polymer prices have forced some converters to close production lines,” says Alexandre Dangis, EuPC managing director. “The situation will continue to worsen if nothing is done. EuPC members set up the Strategic Alliance for Polymers in Europe under the leadership of Ron Marsh,” adds Dangis. Marsh is a former CEO of a major plastics packaging group and a guest to the EuPC Steering Committee.

The EuPC says the plastics converting industry is a major EU employer and source of growth in Europe. However, the industry needs more dialogue and long-term vision in the polymer supply chain and a prompt suspension of EU import duties on polymers, which are not being supplied in sufficient quantities in Europe, says Dangis.

“We hope that polymer producers in Europe will reinvest current margins in the aging European production sites in order to maintain a credible European polymer base to serve the plastics converters in a sustainable manner. Europe drives innovation in plastics packaging and thinking in waste management. Investment here safeguards global markets,” adds Dangis.

 

METALS

India agency amends inspection process for metal scrap

India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has released new rules involving the preshipment inspection and certification of scrap metal entering the country.

Public Notice No. 12/2015-20 revises rules for the preshipment Inspection Agencies (PSIA) and for issuing Preshipment Inspection Certificates (PSIC).

The adjustments follow concerns expressed by a number of recycling-related organizations, including the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) and the Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI).

In April 2015 the DGFT announced it was revising its preshipment inspection and certification requirements for imported metallic scrap, but the effective date of that revision was subsequently postponed.

The 18 May 2015, public notice gives the new rules for Preshipment Inspection Agencies (PSIA) to apply for recognition by an Inter-Ministerial Committee, a status that will need to be renewed every three years.

The notice also includes details of the preshipment inspection certificate, including what will be authenticated with PSIA’s numbered hologram. The prescribed certificate has to be provided to DGFT with photographs or a video clip of the PSIA inspector at the place of inspection; of the testing instrument(s); of the loading of each container, including the container number; and of the container’s sealing. Digital signatures also are being proposed. A PSIA also can perform inspections in countries where it does not have a full-time equipped branch office but will have to inform DGFT by email beforehand.

At the BIR International Trade Council meeting held in May during the BIR’s World Recycling Convention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, delegates suggested that most large shredders might be able to affirm the quality and safety of their own shredded scrap and could feasibly be exempted from preshipment inspection certification.

The revised notice was scheduled to take effect 1 July 2015.

 

METALS

Aluminum Association bemoans China’s removing aluminium duties

The U.S.-based Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, has expressed disappointment in China’s Ministry of Finance’s decision to eliminate the 15% export duty imposed on aluminium rods and bars, alloyed and nonalloyed, as well as certain primary alloys.

In a statement, the association, which represents U.S. and foreign-based companies and their suppliers throughout the value chain, says the elimination of the export duties is “inconsistent with China’s policy to discourage exports of energy-intensive products, a key element of the country’s new normal that puts emphasis on sustainable, quality growth. The association also says it sees the change as having the potential to encourage unfair trade practices in the aluminium industry.

“We urge the Chinese government to maintain global trade practices and policies that ensure a level playing field so that all aluminum producers can compete fairly. The Aluminum Association will continue to monitor developments on this matter.”

 

LEGISLATION

Poll shows Scottish support for bottle and can deposit system

The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS), based in Edinburgh, has published the results of a poll showing that most residents would support a deposit refund system to cover the collection of cans and bottles.

In the poll, conducted for APRS by the U.K. market research firm Survation, 78.8% of the Scottish public surveyed supported the deposit refund system, 12.7% neither supported nor opposed the system, while 8.5% opposed it. Survation polled 1,011 Scottish adults aged 16 and older.

Scotland’s 2009 Climate Change Act gave Scottish ministers the power to adopt a deposit refund system. The same legislation also underpins the country’s plastic bag fee, which has reduced plastic bag usage by more than 80% in six months, APRS says.

Earlier this month the Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland published research concluding that a deposit refund system for Scotland would be feasible and explaining how such an approach could be most efficiently designed in Scotland.

Pilot programs involving “reverse vending machines” have been conducted with encouraging results, according to APRS.

“We know it works in other countries, tackling litter, reducing waste, boosting recycling and supporting good new jobs in the circular economy, says John Mayhew, APRS director. “It’s great to see Scottish Ministers looking positively at this proposal, and we will be taking part in a meeting with stakeholders to urge them to move quickly to get this system up and running.”

EVENTS

Electronics Recycling Asia event set for November

The 2015 edition of Electronics Recycling Asia, an electronics recycling conference held each year in the Asia-Pacific region, will take place 10-13 Nov. 2015 at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore. It is the third consecutive year the event has been held at this venue.

ICM Electronics Singapore Conference organizer ICM AG says the 2015 event will “again explore the considerable challenges and bountiful opportunities” in the electronics recycling sector.

“The world’s reliance on electronic products and digital information continues to feed into the corresponding challenge of how best to recycle the electric and battery-powered devices that touch all aspects of daily life,” says ICM.

As in prior events, the 2015 conference will feature speakers from Asia and around the world addressing a wide spectrum of topics pertaining to how to safely and profitably recycle end-of-life computers, office equipment, consumer electronics, cellphones and other devices. Topics scheduled to be part of the program include:

• manufacturer take-back schemes;
• government initiatives;
• processing technology advances;
• precious metals recovery;
• battery recycling; and
• environmental compliance.
   

ICM AG also will be organizing optional recycling plant tours and will offer access to an exhibit area featuring technology and service providers. The conference also is offering additional workshops before and after the main event.

“Electronics Recycling Asia is the best conference for understanding the present policies and different recycling schemes for WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) used in the EU, North America and Asian countries,” says Hsiao Kang Ma, a professor at the National Taiwan University and a past speaker at Electronics Recycling Asia.

Some 300 recyclers, OEM delegates and government policy makers are expected to attend. More information is available at www.icm.ch.

PAPER

Deinking plant opens in Australia

Australian Paper, based in Mt. Waverley, Australia, has opened a new $90 million recycling and paper deinking facility at its mill in Victoria, Australia.

“This plant will take up to 80,000 tonnes of [scrap] paper out of Australia’s landfill each year, which is enough to fill a tennis court to more than twice the height of the Eureka Tower [the tallest building in Australia],” says Peter Williams, Australian Paper COO. “We are committed to meeting the growing demand for premium, local recycled paper,” he adds.

At full capacity the deinking plant will produce approximately 50,000 tonnes of recycled-content pulp each year.

Nippon Paper, the Japan-based parent company of Australian Paper, approved the construction of the facility in October 2012. When it officially announced construction of the project, Nippon said the deinking facility would triple Australian Paper’s use of recycled fibre, as well as enable the development of a wide range of Australia-produced paper products.

“The environmental benefits of this project are significant,” Williams says. “Importing recycled paper made overseas only adds to Australia’s landfill and also generates significant sea freight emissions. In contrast, removing 80,000 tonnes of [scrap] paper from Australia’s landfill saves up to 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year, which is equal to taking more than 70,000 cars off Australia’s roads.”

PLASTICS

Scandinavian office chair, made from 50% recycled materials, wins Best Product award

Scandinavian Business Seating of Oslo, Norway, has won the European Best Recycled Plastic Product 2015 awards, for its HÅG Capisco office chair.

The competition was part of the Identiplast Congress held 29 April in Rome and was backed by the Brussels-based European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations (EPRO) and supporting organisations.

Atle Thiis-Messel of Scandinavian Business Seating states, “The HÅG Capisco chair is our best-seller, with sales of 46,000 chairs per year. It is made of 50 percent recycled materials and the plastic parts are manufactured from 100-percent-recycled PP (polypropylene). It has also been designed to be dismantled easily, making it easy to separate the different parts and materials for repair or recycling.”

EPRO Co-chairman Francis Huysman says, “EPRO believes that one of the most important ways of achieving increased recycling is to raise the awareness of the products made from recycled plastics packaging, and by doing so, promoting the use of recyclates and the cycle of plastics. The HÅG Capisco chair is—besides the fact that it is made out of recycled materials—a good example of a product in a circular economy model.”

RECOUP is sponsoring the U.K. Best Recycled Plastic Product Award at the Plastics Industry Awards 2015, which is currently open for entries. The winner will be presented with the award at the London Hilton on Park Lane 9 Oct. Comedian, actor and writer Alan Davies will present the awards.

 

PLASTICS

Mettalis Recycling signs joint venture deal with Environmental Recycling Technologies

U.K.-based Environmental Recycling Technologies plc (ERT), which owns the patent to the powder impression moulding (PIM) process, has signed an agreement with the U.K.-based recycling company Mettalis Recycling Ltd. (MRL) to incorporate a joint venture company through which ERT will grant an exclusive license for the manufacture and sale of its PIM flat sheet for the U.K. market.

ERT’s PIM process converts mixed plastics scrap into commercially viable products, the company says. The joint venture will initially be owned 50% by MRL and 50% by ERT and will hold the U.K. license to manufacture and sell PIM flat sheet in exchange for a knowledge transfer and license fee of £1 million (US$1.565 million). Meanwhile, MRL will grant the joint venture an exclusive U.K. license for the use of its proprietary technology in the field of plastics processing for a knowledge transfer and license fee of £1 million. The license fees will be paid in installments as the joint venture begins. MRL will fund the joint venture through a loan of up to £1 million while seeking additional investors to fund expansion.

ERT also will receive royalty payments on each PIM product manufactured and sold by the joint venture.

Lee Clayton, ERT managing director, says, “We are delighted to have established a joint venture with Mettalis Recycling Ltd. to reintroduce flat sheet PIM board to the U.K. market. We have been looking for a partner who could take on the manufacture and supply of this sought-after product and have actively decided upon a closer participation with our new flagship U.K. manufacturer so that we can contribute more actively to the business.”

“We are very excited about entering into this partnership,” says Tom Bird, managing director of MRL. “This is the first major step for Mettalis with regard to our forward strategy of moving to diversify our business into innovative recycling solutions. This joint venture will complement another bespoke initiative, which will see Mettalis at the forefront of metals and plastics recycling.”

METALS

Euroports commissions scrap metal yard at Italian port

Euroports Holdings, a port operator headquartered in the Netherlands, has officially commissioned a scrap metal facility at its Terminal Rinfuse Venezia location at the port of Venice, Italy.

Euroports says the new scrap metal facility at the terminal is the largest of its kind in the North Adriatic Sea. The facility consists of a fenced yard area of 4,200 square metres with a maximum storage capacity of 30,000 tonnes. The facility has been equipped with a water treatment plant and a mobile system for reducing dust.

Euroports notes that the terminal’s location offers one of the most competitive drafts among the Northeast Italian Ports, which will allow the terminal to receive Panamax vessels.

The new facility also may allow Euroports to serve imports from the United States, North America, Northern Europe and Russia, as well as to export scrap metal to Turkey, India and China. The terminal is connected by truck, rail and barges, allowing easy access to material from throughout Central Europe.

Marco Corbellini, managing director of Euroports Italy, says, “This new infrastructure will enable us to meet the demands from our customers in recent years, widen the scope of services offered by our terminal and observe the regulations in a responsible manner.”