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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Lycoming County (Pennsylvania) Resource Management Services (LCRMS) has celebrated the grand opening of its $5.3 million single-stream material recovery facility (MRF) and the subsequent launch of a new regional recycling program called One for All. According to Jason Yorks, Lycoming County recycling coordinator, the new single-stream MRF will allow residents to recycle a wider range of recyclables, including Nos. 1 through 7 plastics and aseptic gable-top containers, such as juice and soup cartons. The 60,000-square-foot MRf, which is adjacent to the Lycoming County Landfill in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, can sort and bale up to 20 tons per hour of comingled recyclables. The participating counties in northeastern Pennsylvania include Lycoming, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Union and...
Aleris Corporation reported results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014. The company updates the following about their Recycling and Specification Alloy Business: Recycling and Specification Alloys North America ("RSAA") RSAA's segment income and segment Adjusted EBITDA increased to $20 million in the third quarter of 2014 from $16 million in the third quarter of 2013. Performance drivers included: • continued improvement in metal spreads, partly driven by customer and product mix increased segment Adjusted EBITDA by $5 million; and • higher costs associated with inflation in employee and energy costs exceeded productivity gains and decreased segment Adjusted EBITDA by $1 million. Recycling and Specification Alloys Europe ("RSEU") RSEU's segment income and segment...
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has released the Non-Ferrous World Mirror for October 2014, which states that geopolitical tensions and conflicts have continued to drag the non-ferrous metals markets worldwide. The protests in Hong Kong have aggravated the weak trade condition in China. Customs data points to sharp fall in imports of non-ferrous scrap by China. Shanghai reported nearly 28% decline in imports of aluminum scrap during the initial nine months of the year. Meantime, Tianjin's aluminum scrap import volumes tumbled 48% during this period. The country has announced that Category 6 import permits henceforth shall be issued by respective provincial authorities. The overall volume of secondary non-ferrous metals has declined sharply in India. The demand for aluminum...
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has released the Non-Ferrous World Mirror for October 2014, which states that geopolitical tensions and conflicts have continued to drag the non-ferrous metals markets worldwide. The protests in Hong Kong have aggravated the weak trade condition in China. Customs data points to sharp fall in imports of non-ferrous scrap by China. Shanghai reported nearly 28% decline in imports of aluminum scrap during the initial nine months of the year. Meantime, Tianjin's aluminum scrap import volumes tumbled 48% during this period. The country has announced that Category 6 import permits henceforth shall be issued by respective provincial authorities. The overall volume of secondary non-ferrous metals has declined sharply in India. The demand for aluminum...
The launch of the world’s largest aluminium recycling plant by Novelis brought with it a lot of promise, especially with their creation of the ‘evercan’, the aluminium beverage can made up of more than 90% recycled aluminium. The concept of circular economy where used product can once again be converted into fresh product was all set to revolutionize the beverage can industry both in terms of the costs and the carbon emissions. Aluminium recycling costs around 95% less energy which means lower costs and lower emissions. The beverage companies were supposed to leap at the opportunity however, the market response has been lukewarm at best where Red Hare Barring Co. which is a small craft brewer based out of Marietta, Georgia, seems to be the only customer. Although the stalwarts of the...
The U.S. aluminum industry purchased an estimated 812 million pounds of aluminum scrap during August 2014, according to aluminum recycling statistics published by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Interior, up 7.1 percent over the August 2013 total of 758 million. USGS estimates that recovery of aluminum and aluminum alloys totaled 694 million pounds, an increase of 7.6 percent year-over-year. During the first eight months of 2014, preliminary data indicate that recovery of aluminum from scrap totaled an estimated 5,301 million pounds, up 3.1 percent over the 2013 YTD total of 5,141 million. U.S. exports of scrap, not included in the government’s consumption statistics, totaled 2,513 million pounds year-to-date, down 4.9 percent from the same period in 2013 The Aluminum...
Jaguar’s new XE car is using a new aluminium alloy that means 50 per cent of the body is made from recycled aluminium. Funding for the development of the new alloy came from Innovate UK (the new name for the Technology Strategy Board) in 2007 when it provided 69 per cent of the £2 million total funding for the collaborative R&D competition. Six other partner organisations were involved in the project meaning a fully integrated supply chain. These included Novelis, Zyomax, Norton, Stadco, Brunel University and Innoval Technology. A second project is now being worked on to increase the recycled content even further with the aim of 75 per cent. Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “This is a fine example of a great British company driving British innovation. This could be a game changer for...
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) congratulates George Chen, president of ISRI Member G&T Trading International in Clifton, New Jersey, for receiving the Commissioner’s Award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. George was honored at the Association of New Jersey Recyclers annual recycling symposium. “For George, recycling is a passion that he cares deeply about and shares with others as a way of helping preserve the planet for future generations,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “He has shown a strong dedication to the industry through various leadership roles and through promoting its many benefits. We are proud to call George an ISRI member, and congratulate him on this well-deserved award.” Each year the New Jersey Department of...
Continuing its support of cutting edge technology, Innovate UK (the new name for the Technology Strategy Board), has played a key role in enabling Jaguar Land Rover to develop a new aluminium alloy, which means that up to 50% of the body of the new Jaguar XE is made from recycled aluminium. This new lightweight aluminium alloy, which is made from processed scrap, is not only better for the environment - the lighter car will also produce less CO2 emissions - but it also has the potential to be used by other producers in the transport sector. This came about as a result of a collaborative R&D competition launched by Innovate UK in 2007 that led to the support of the project REALCAR (Recycled Aluminium Car). Six other partner organisations were involved, ensuring that there was a fully...
Minneapolis’ switch to single-sort recycling has prompted residents to recycle nearly 29 percent more waste than a few years ago, when all recyclables had to be sorted into separate containers The shift has also prompted a sizable drop in the number of workers’ compensation claims related to recycling collection, a public works official told a City Council committee Tuesday. He said the citywide rollout of single-sort pickup, which began in July 2013 after launching in parts of Minneapolis several months earlier, has proved to be more efficient for both the people putting their plastic, glass, paper, cardboard and aluminum on the curb — and for the people who pick it up. Since the mid-1990s, the share of waste recycled by Minneapolis residents has been under 20 percent, dipping as low as...
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), the Voice of the Recycling IndustryTM, today announced the creation of the Circle of Safety ExcellenceTM – a member-driven effort to promote and encourage safety in the workplace. The key to this new initiative is the establishment of a platform – the Circle – within which like-minded companies voluntarily come forward to share safety data and best practices for the betterment of their own safety program and the industry in general, and at the same time be recognized by ISRI for their commitment to safety. “ISRI’s new Circle of Safety Excellence program is designed for every ISRI member company willing to embrace a new safety norm,” said Doug Kramer, chair of ISRI. “It is a social and professional network of like-minded owners and CEOs...
A new technology is introduced in the world’s largest industrial waste gasification plant at Oldbury, West Midlands which is due to commission this month where nearly 100 percent of old vehicles can be recycled or turned into energy. This technology is part of the newly emerging “cleantech” sector that is a section of green economy which deals with a variety of areas including renewable energy, smart grids and car sharing. Cleantech Group which is an US consultancy released a report this month where UK ranked second after US regarding its annual ranking of start-ups in the sector. Britain sends more than a million vehicles to scrap every year which makes this joint venture between Chinook Sciences and European Metals Recycling worth £100m crucial to improve the recycling rates. The...
Aleris announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its North American and European Recycling and Specification Alloys businesses to an affiliate of Signature Group Holdings. The sale includes 18 production facilities in North America and six in Europe. The facilities offer a wide range of metal recycling services and specification alloy products. Signature has agreed to pay an aggregate of $525 million for the businesses in the form of $465 million in cash with the remainder in cash and preferred shares of Signature Group Holdings, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. Aleris' decision to divest the businesses follows a strategic review process that was announced in April. "The sale of the recycling and specification alloys businesses will result in a...
As the city of Lawrence initiates its new citywide recycling program, Cans for the Community, the organization that collects aluminum cans and donates the proceeds to local nonprofits, wants to remind the public that it is not going anywhere. Linda Klinker, chairwoman of Cans for the Community's board of directors, said the organization plans to continue its operation after the new recycling program begins Tuesday. Under the city's "single-stream" program, homes will receive plastic, wheeled carts for a variety of items, including glass, paper, cardboard, tin, steel and aluminum. Plastic bags, styrofoam and electronics are not permitted. Klinker said people can still reserve their aluminum cans for the dozen Cans for the Community dropoff bins around the city. "We just want everyone to...
More than six tonnes of aluminum cans were collected during a nationwide recycling drive on Saturday, 11th Oct. The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) organised their biannual Can Collection Drive to collect 6,009 kilograms of aluminum cans. This brings EEG’s total collections so far to 20,724kg. “Our aim is to pass 27,000 kilograms this year,” said Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson of the EEG. “It shouldn’t be a struggle, 27,000kg is nothing, it’s a drop in the ocean compared with the cans sold in the UAE a year – which is more than 500 million cans. “We try to divert one of our most valuable raw materials, which is aluminum, from the landfill. So this all will be collected, segregated, and cleaned so we only have pure aluminum ... that gets recycled 100 per cent.” The cans collected...
Due to improved collection and recycling in various European countries the average aluminium closures recycling rate is now at 45 per cent. Aluminium recycling saves up to 95% energy use compared to its primary production, with the corresponding savings in greenhouse gas emissions. It can be recycled over and over without any loss of quality. Aluminium closures are mainly used for wine, spirits, water and olive oil. The advantage of aluminium closures is that they can be collected either together with the mixed packaging fraction or along with the glass collection stream. The aluminium is easily extracted from both material streams so that it can be recycled. “Aluminium closures are probably the world’s most recycled closures in the wine and spirits sector.”, comments EAFA‘s Executive...
Registration is now open for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ (ISRI) 2014 Operations Forum, to be held November 13-15, at the Charlotte Marriott City Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The forum is a must attend event for those responsible for the safe and efficient operation of scrap recycling facilities. The Operations Forum serves as a mini-convention with programming to help recyclers design, maintain, and operate more efficient facilities. Attendees of the Operations Forum can arrange an educational itinerary that best meets their needs. The sessions are based on four tracks: • Shredder Operations—For employees working directly with shredders and for those seeking a better understanding of materials flow in the yard; • Material Handler Operations and Maintenance—For...
The Recycling Industry Operating Standard™ (RIOS™) recently named Jeremy Miller of Wm. Miller Scrap Iron & Metal Co. in Winona, Minnesota and Scott Venhaus of Arrow Electronics in Englewood, Colorado to its Board of Directors. Each will serve a three year term. RIOS™ is the recycling industry’s management system standard for quality, environment, and health and safety (QEH&S). Specifically designed for the recycling industry, RIOS™, integrates the key operational elements found in other standards, such as ISO 9001 (Q), ISO 14001 (E), and OHSAS 18001 (H&S), bringing them together into one streamlined management system. “RIOS is excited to welcome Jeremy Miller and Scott Venhaus to the RIOS Board of Directors,” said Darrell Kendall, director of RIOS™. “Their strong leadership skills,...
