Europe’s recycled aluminium industry is an important component of the global secondary aluminium supply chain, with Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom (UK) representing key national markets. Production across the European region stood at nearly 6 million tonnes in 2023, supported by established scrap recovery systems, industrial recycling capacity and demand for recycled metal. Russia also contributes to the regional landscape through secondary aluminium production units concentrated in several industrial centres. According to AL Circle’s analysis in its report, “ World Recycled ALuminium Market Analysis Industry Forecast ”, the four countries present different market structures, from Germany’s substantial recycling capacity and Italy’s scrap-based production to the UK’s organised...
According to SMM survey statistics, the operating rate of the secondary aluminium alloy industry in September was 35.0 per cent, up 3.1 percentage points M-o-M but down 6.7 percentage points Y-o-Y. Industry production continued its recovery trend, but the overall operating level remained below the same period last year. On the demand side, September marked the traditional peak consumption season, with downstream orders recovering from August. End-use demand from automobiles and other sectors improved marginally, but the peak season effect has yet to fully materialise. According to CAAM data, automobile production in September was 2.99 million units, up 11.4 per cent M-o-M but down 8.7 per cent Y-o-Y. NEV production was 1.814 million units, up 12.2 per cent Y-o-Y. CAAM noted that China's...
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CRU and FRH Aluminum will jointly organize the inaugural Aluminum Recycling Technical Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The one-and-a-half-day conference will take place at the Radisson Nashville Airport on October 15- 16 2019. CRU has collaborated with long-time industry expert Bob Hubbard of FRH Aluminum for an exclusive technical conference on the aluminium scrap market. Mr. Hubbard has 49 years of experience in the aluminium industry starting his career at Alcoa in 1970, where he worked for 20 years. He spent another 27 years working for IMCO, Aleris, and Real Alloy where he developed his expertise in aluminium melting, scrap/dross recovery, and alloy specifications. Bob later started FRH Aluminum, LLC, a consulting business dedicated to the recycling aluminium sector. Industry...
According to the latest report from US Geological Survey, total aluminium recovered from scrap came in at 288,000 tonnes in March, the same as the revised amount in March. That was 6 per cent less than the amount in both April 2018 and April 2017. Of this, 161,000 tonnes of aluminium was recovered from new scrap and 128,000 tonnes was recovered from old scrap. US domestic primary aluminium production stood at 92,000 tonnes in April 2019. The average daily production was 3,070 tonnes, slightly more than that in March. Daily production registered a hike of 30 per cent from April 2018, and 53 per cent from April 2017. Primary aluminium inventories in LME-approved warehouses in the United States dropped to 22,750tonnes at the end of April. Inventories of secondary aluminium (North American...
The U.S. exports of aluminium scrap registered 170,000 tonnes in April 2019, according to the latest report from US Geological Survey. The export volume increased 14.09 per cent from 149,000 tonnes exported in April 2018. On a month-on-month comparison, exports increased 4.29 per cent from March’s export volume of 163,000 tonnes. Exports stood at 623,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2019, which was a 16.23 per cent increase from 536000 tonnes in the first four months of 2018. China, South Korea and India remained to be the top three aluminium scrap importers from the U.S. The U.S exported 44,800 tonnes of aluminium scrap to China, from 60,100 tonnes exported the previous year. Exports increased 15.76 per cent month-on-month. Aluminium scrap exports to China came in at 157,000 tonnes...
Denmark aluminium scrap exports have grown steadily in the last three years. The upward trend is expected to continue in 2019. The top export destinations of aluminium scrap in 2018 were Germany (48053 tonnes), Sweden (34733 tonnes), Luxembourg (13381 tonnes), Belgium (7624 tonnes), and Hungary (7057 tonnes) among others. According to recent estimates, exports of aluminium scrap in Denmark stood at 91337 tonnes in 2016, which increased to 138224 tonnes in 2017. This records an increase of 51.33 per cent year-on-year. The country’s estimated aluminium scraps exports increased 1.43 per cent year-on-year to 140206 tonnes in 2018. Aluminium export volume is estimated to reach 145262 tonnes in 2019, an increase of 3.61 per cent from 2018. Denmark generated revenue of US$55.62 million in 2016....
According to Shanghai Metals Market, China’s aluminium scrap import increased 15.81 per cent month-on-month and 57.8 per cent year-on-year in May to come in at 177,200 tonnes. Importers’ rush to move the seaborne scrap metal into domestic markets before import restrictions on July 1 resulted in this month-on-month rise in China’s aluminium scrap import. In April, the country had imported 153,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap, 21.6 per cent higher from 126,000 tonnes in March. This indicates that China’s aluminium scrap import increased month-on-month from March to May 2019. Imports in April had increased 37.4 per cent to 102,000 tonnes through general trade, the highest in 13 months, but decreased through processing trade by 7.2 per cent year-on-year to 51,000 tonnes. During January-February,...
Viridor has won a contract worth £20 million from East Sussex County Council to process around 50,000 tonnes of dry mixed recyclables per annum. Viridor will receive the county’s kerbside recyclables, including paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, aluminium cans, steel cans and glass from all five districts and boroughs for sorting and onward sale into the recycling markets. Simon Prior, Viridor’s Head of Local Authority Development, said: “Our internal Bid and Development Team’s submitted a high-quality bid and we are delighted to be awarded the contract to continue our work with East Sussex directly. “Processing the county’s high quality recyclables provide high quality resources to support the growing circular economy. In addition, our social value proposition...
Al Bustan Centre & Residence, the popular hotel-apartment among tourists and businessmen in the heart of Dubai, has reportedly participated in ‘Can Collection Drive’ organised by Emirates Environmental Group (EEG). As per the rule of the campaign, the employees of the hotel apartment vowed to deposit a specific amount of aluminium cans from April 1 to June 30, 2019, in a bid to educate the community people on sustainability, instil values of recycling in them, especially the younger generation, and achieve the objective of reducing waste to landfills. This is a small move taken by them as part of the commitment to the environment. Participants who will be able to achieve the target of depositing the required amount of cans will receive a certificate of participation and also a chance to...
G. Pivaudran, a French company specialising in metal processing to make stoppers, caps and coverings for perfumes, cosmetics and spirits packaging, demonstrated surface treatment tests made on recycled aluminium during the Édition Spéciale by Luxe Pack show in Paris. The tests show promising results notwithstanding the limitations. Though aluminium is infinitely recyclable, the use of recycled material in the luxury packaging sector faces several challenges. The French company, which has a reputation of using only high-purity aluminium, has starter a series of technical tests to understand what proportion of recycled aluminium could be used for luxury packaging markets. In theory, aluminium is infinitely recyclable. However, the use of recycled qualities in the luxury sector faces several...
Malaysia’s imports of aluminium scrap from the US stood at 39,100 tonnes in the first three months of 2019, 93.56 per cent higher than the corresponding period of 2018, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. In March, aluminium scrap imports from the US came in at 15,200 tonnes, an increase of 141.27 per cent from 6,300 tonnes in the same period last year. Imports increased 7.8 per cent from February’s import volume of 14,100 tonnes. Total aluminium imports including scrap stood at 39,900 tonnes in the first three months of 2019. That was up 84.72 per cent compared with the same period last year. Malaysia had imported 21,600 tonnes of these products in January-March 2018. Imports of aluminium semi-finished products (plates, sheets, bars, etc.)...
The Lexington Recycle Centre has resumed its operations and once again processing recyclable materials, city officials said on Wednesday, June 12. A mechanical problem had halted the facility’s operations for several days. Some officials reported last week that a machine that separates aluminium cans from other materials had stopped working, resulting in operation shut at the facility. On Wednesday, the recycling centre announced that it made a temporary fix to the problem and still working to fix it permanently. Earlier, officials also said that residents can help prevent future mechanical issues by recycling properly and keeping recyclable materials dry by closing lids on carts and dumpsters to prevent moisture from getting in. Unwanted wet materials add additional stress on mechanical...
Pennsylvania lawmakers are aiming to pass a bill to start a bottle and can deposit program in Pennsylvania. State Rep. Wendy Ullman initiated it as a part of a larger legislation called “Zero Waste Pa.” According to Ullman, this program will help cleaning up the streets and waterways as beverage packaging comprises 6% of waste and 50% of all litter. “My legislation will support and reward recycling, which will ultimately reduce waste throughout Pennsylvania and keep our outdoor areas beautiful and free from litter,” Ullman said in a news release. Ullman wants recycling to become a part of everyday life, and she has seen it happen in other states, “It’s part of what people do,” she said of residents in Maine, where a bottle and can deposit system has been in place since the 70s. She wants...
The UK aluminium drink can recycling rate continued to increase to 75% in 2018, the highest ever level, according to the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro). Data also showed that 95% of aluminium packaging collected in the UK is recycled within Europe. The overall aluminium packaging rate reached 52% in 2018, up from 41% in 2010. This means over 100,000 tonnes of aluminium packaging sold in the UK were recycled last year. These improvements are attributed to the investment made by the aluminium sector as a whole to ensure that the packaging they produce is recycled. Rick Hindley, executive director of Alupro said: “Aluminium is the perfect example of the circular economy because it can be recycled forever. We know that British consumers want to do their part, so we’re...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, operating rates across Chinese secondary aluminium producers stood at 53.73% in May, down 4.6 percentage points from April, and 4.2 percentage points from May 2018. Car inventory clearance ahead of the new emission standards kept demand for secondary aluminium weak. Inventories of finished products at secondary aluminium producers had grown on weak demand from end-users, and this drove them to curb production. SMM reported that Inflows of seaborne ADC12 weighed on the domestic low-end market, and this shrank profit margins that producers could incur, resulting in production cuts. In April, operating rates across secondary aluminium producers averaged 58.37%, down 3.05 percentage points month-on-month but up 0.05 percentage point year-on-year. SMM...
The newly implemented restrictions on scrap aluminium imports from July are likely to raise cost for Chinese secondary aluminium smelters, which in turn may raise the export price of Chinese aluminium alloys, a Platts report says. From July, only companies with licenses from the Ministry of Environment and Ecology can import scraps by the quota set by the ministry on a quarterly basis. The import quota system is likely to continue till the end of 2020 and from 2021, all scrap imports would be banned by China. Chinese smelters are reported to be in talks with the government to allow conditional high-grade scrap imports after 2021. According to Customs data, China’s aluminium scarp import dropped to 1.6 million tonnes in 2018 from 2.2 million tonnes in 2017. According to market sources,...
Showa Denko Group companies and their associates successfully continued their aluminium can recycling activities in FY 2018 ended March 2019. They collected about 4.79 million UBC for recycling or recovered about 75 tons of aluminium when converted at the rate of 15.7 grams of aluminium per can. Showa Denko K.K. (SDK’s) aluminium business produces aluminium materials and high-value-added fabricated aluminium and aluminium cans. Showa Aluminum Can Corporation started its aluminium can recycling drive in 1972, which later spread across the Showa Denko Group in 2001 and continued till date. SDK has an in-house program to educate employees about aluminium can recycling. Employees are encouraged to participate in recycling activities and appreciated officially according to the employees'...
Cummins will host its ninth annual one-day recycle event this Thursday, June 13, inside the Central Avenue entrance to the Columbus Engine Plant, in a bid to honour its environmental commitment. In the event, more than 1000 people are expected to drop off household recyclables, appliances, electronics and more. Besides traditional recyclables including plastic, glass and paper, batteries, aluminium cans, steel cans and metal will also be accepted. In 2017 and 2018, more than 200 Cummins employees had volunteered to direct motorists to the appropriate area or provide unloading assistance during the day-long event. This year, the numbers of volunteers are expected to be the same or more, said Cummins environmental supervisor David Wehrkamp. The most popular items dropped off last year were...
To commemorate the World’s Environment Day yesterday, on June 5, some ten tonnes of garbage including aluminium ladders and cans were collected in Nepal for recycling, said Nepali officials. A team of fourteen men was sent by the government for six weeks to scour for litter from base camp to Camp 4 - nearly 26,300 feet up to collect empty cans, bottles, plastic and discarded climbing gear. The bags of trash arrived at Kathmandu on road and air and then handed over to a local recycling company. They will be divided manually into different materials and then recycled accordingly. “We collected (the trash) but managing it is also very important,” Dandu Raj Ghimire, chief of Nepal’s tourism department, told reporters. “Usually there is a big volume of metal, aluminium, glass and heavy and...
According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs, China’s imports of aluminium scrap came in at 153,000 tonnes in April. Imports increased by 21.6 per cent from 126,000 tonnes in March. Aluminium scrap imports scrap expanded in April, bolstered by greater imports through general trade after prices of European materials dropped sharply, as updated by Shanghai Metals Market. China’s imports of aluminium scrap registered a growth of 21.6 per cent year-on-year, when the levy of 25 per cent on US materials took effect. Imports through general trade increased 37.4 per cent to 102,000 tonnes in April, the highest in 13 months. This was up 29.1 per cent YoY. While imports through processing trade declined 7.2 per cent year-on-year to 51,000 tonnes. Aluminium scrap...
