Remex opens incinerator bottom ash processing plant in Singapore

The official opening of Remex’s recycling facility in Singapore (from left to right): Minister for the Environment Masagos Zulkifli, Norbert Rethmann, honorary chairman of the supervisory board of the RETHMANN Group, and Venkat Patnaik, managing director of REMEX Minerals Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Remex Mineralstoff GmbH of Düsseldorf, Germany, a subsidiary of the German recycling, service and water company Remondis, recently completed the construction of a state-of-the-art recycling facility in Singapore to process incinerator bottom ash (IBA) and recover the metals contained in the material.

The plant was officially opened in December by Singapore’s Minister for the Environment, Masagos Zulkifli, and Norbert Rethmann, honorary chairman of the supervisory board of the Rethmann Group, to which Remondis and Remex belong. The new metal recovery plant was commissioned in July this year after having been built within a period of just eight months. Equipped with cutting edge technology, it is a showcase project for the Asian region, Remondis says.

Remex founded Remex Minerals Singapore Pte. Ltd. to build and manage the facility, its first branch operating outside Europe. This local company is operating the plant on behalf of the country’s National Environment Agency (NEA), which had put this project out to tender as part of its long-term plan to improve resource efficiency in Singapore.

Remex has extensive know-how of recycling mineral waste and already operates similar facilities in the Netherlands and Germany, Remondis says.

Minister for the Environment Masagos Zulkifli, commented, “Remex is well established on the European market as a specialist recycling business for recovering metal from incinerator bottom ash. I am confident that the company’s experience will ensure this plant will be a success over the coming years.”

The plant, which is able to recover both ferrous and nonferrous metals, is located on grounds covering 1.4 hectares in the Tuas district of Singapore. According to Remondis, Remex will be able to process around 600,000 metric tons of IBA generated by Singapore’s four household waste incineration plants every year. The company says the facility will be able to recover and recycle about 90 percent of the ferrous metals found in the IBA and over three quarters of the valuable nonferrous metals, such as aluminium and copper. These high recycling rates are possible thanks to the plant’s innovative technology that will make it possible for even the smallest pieces of metal, such as paper clips and bottle caps, to be picked out.

A variety of systems have been installed including special magnets, eddy current separators and multistage screening equipment. The company says the arrangement of the technology is designed to ensure that the ferrous and nonferrous metals can be removed separately from the incinerator bottom ash.

Remex’s new recycling plant will not only be promoting metal recycling, which is so important to Singapore. The NEA is also looking ahead and is intending to make the most of the largest material fraction: the ash itself. If processed correctly, this material can be used to make building supplies or as aggregate for road and earthworks projects, Remondis says. Recycled IBA is already being used as secondary aggregate in Europe. This helps to conserve primary raw materials, such as sand and gravel, and provides an alternative to sending such material to landfill.

Zulkifli concluded, “The opening of this first facility of its kind in Singapore marks a significant milestone in our efforts towards becoming a Zero Waste Nation.”

Privately owned Remondis operates across four continents and has a workforce of over 31,000 employees and sales of around €6.4 billion.

Remex Mineralstoff GmbH has a network of more than 60 business locations and employs over 500 people. The company specialises in recovering raw materials from different types of mineral waste including waste from industrial processes and construction work as well as incinerator bottom ash. REMEX also operates in a number of other fields including backfilling, remediation work and managing landfills.