Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., Portland, Ore., has been named “Scrap Company of the Year” at American Metal Market’s 2nd Annual Awards for Steel Excellence program. According to Schnitzer, the award recognizes the company’s commitment to operational excellence, significant growth achievements and contributions to the industry’s global advancement during the past year.

In accepting the award, Tamara Lundgren, president and CEO of Schnitzer, said, “2010 was an extraordinary year of performance for Schnitzer, which continues to drive our accomplishments in the current year. We remain focused on our strategy to opportunistically invest in our growth and, as overall global demand for recycled metals gains momentum, we are uniquely positioned to benefit from our bi-coastal footprint in North America, the emphasis on safety and sustainability throughout the organization, and the exceptional dedication of our nearly 4,000 employees who make our strategic goals a reality.”

According Schnitzer, nominations for the award were judged in three areas:

•          Customer service/support and continuous improvement initiatives
•          The adoption/implementation of scrap anti-theft, mercury-switch removal and radiation-detection measures
•          Environmental compliance and safety performance 2010 vs. 2009

City Carton Recycling, (CCR) Iowa City, Iowa, has hired Earl Brocklehurst as the company’s Maintenance Service and Sales Manager. Brocklehurst will be responsible for selling and advising customers and potential customers on service, repair, and preventative maintenance packages. He also will oversee the maintenance/shop division’s budget and maintain a required profit margin.

Brocklehurst, with more than 24 years of sales and management experience in the waste and recycling equipment industry, most recently served as president of Waste Tech Service Corp., Holiday, Fla. He will be located at the company’s maintenance facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He will report to Tim Ockenfels, CCR’s vice president of Maintenance and Capital Purchasing.

CCR operates eight recycling facilities throughout Iowa. Additionally, the company operates Document Destruction and Recycling Services, a full service, bonded, confidential materials shredding company with three facilities in Iowa.

Horsehead Holding Corp., Pittsburgh, has announced its decision to proceed with plans to build a zinc production facility. The new facility will replace Horsehead’s older smelter technology. The company expects the new facility to result in sharply reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and particulates into the atmosphere.

According to a news release, the plant will use the ZINCEX solvent extraction technology.

The plant will produce zinc solely from recycled materials and use significantly less fossil fuel than the company’s current smelter. The new plant will convert electric arc furnace-based feed and other recycled materials into special high grade zinc and other grades in addition to the prime western grade currently offered by the company, expanding its access to new markets while it serves customers in the zinc oxide market. In addition, the process will allow the company to recover value from new metals such as silver and lead as well as the copper and cadmium contained in electric arc furnace dust.

Horsehead has tabbed Tecnicas Reunidas, Madrid, a technology provider and developer of the ZINCEX process, to complete an engineering study for the plant. This study has confirmed findings from previously completed feasibility studies that led to the decision to commence with the project. The ZINCEX process has been successfully deployed at the Skorpion facility in Namibia and the Akita facility in Japan.

Horsehead says the new facility will be able to produce more than 150,000 tons of zinc per year and will reduce manufacturing conversion costs due to the lower energy usage, higher labor productivity and lower maintenance needs associated with the new technology.

The company, which is in negotiations in regards to a final location, hopes to start construction on the facility by the end of 2011. Completion of the construction is expected by the third quarter of 2013.

A settlement has been reached between 12 states and the bankruptcy trust established to resolve claims against the former General Motors over funding for a program to dispose of mercury-containing switches. The settlement addresses mercury switches that were included in GM vehicles before the company dissolved following bankruptcy protection.

The 12 states that took part in the suit were Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts.

The suit was filed by Attorneys General by the 12 states in November 2009.

“This step will help provide the funds necessary to retrieve these components from cars before they go out of commission,” says Illinois’ Attorney General Lisa Madigan. “It is an important part of our efforts nationwide to reduce the level of mercury in the environment, which poses a health risk to everyone, but especially to children.”

Under the Agreed Order entered in Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York June 22, the 12 states will share in $2.845 million set aside by “old” GM to a program that will assist the participating states in collecting and recycling mercury-containing switches. The money will be pooled with funds expected from other carmakers to run the mercury switch removal program.

The money will be paid to End-of-Life-Vehicle Solutions Inc. (ELVS), a not-for-profit corporation that operates the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program, a voluntary, national program established in 2006 by the United States EPA, automobile manufacturers, and related industries.

In a separate agreement, the company now known as General Motors Co. (New GM), committed to making an additional contribution of $4.5 million to the recovery program to cover Old GM’s share of the national program costs through 2017.