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...
Europe’s aluminium scrap exports to the US have risen by 243 per cent, highlighting a growing concern over the continent’s access to strategic raw materials as it pursues recycling, decarbonisation and industrial competitiveness. Evangelos Mytilineos, Executive Chairman of METLEN, raised the issue, linking scrap outflows to the broader challenges facing European industry, energy security and strategic autonomy. Aluminium scrap outflows raise industrial concerns Mytilineos referred to the contrasting US tariff treatment of aluminium products, i.e., a 50 per cent tariff on primary aluminium, compared with zero tariff on scrap . With European aluminium scrap exports to the US increasing by 243 per cent, he questioned whether Europe could strengthen its industrial base while allowing valuable...
Grow with
AL Circle
Kuusakoski Group Oy, a recycling pioneer and the only recycled aluminium producer in Finland, has reportedly invested 25 M€ in a new production line at the recycling plant in Heinola. This project will ramp up the company’s recycling capacity for non-ferrous metals, including aluminium. The demand for recycled raw materials is skyrocketing with time as it saves considerable energy of what is required to produce virgin metal. For the first time in this decade, the production of recycled aluminium is anticipated to exceed that of primary aluminium. In 2022, Kuusakoski supplied a substantial amount of recycled aluminium to its customers needed for 2,000 new passenger aircraft. Kuusakoski’s recycling factory in Heinola is the largest integrated recycling plant in the Northern Europe, located...
Waste disposal is one of the significant problems the cruise line industry has been dealing with for quite some time now. However, with the latest advancement shown by 'Symphony of the Seas,' one of the largest cruise ship in the world, the problem of disposing of waste ranging from aluminium bottles, cans or even food materials have become a little less complex. The Symphony of the Seas, operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, is a "zero landfill ship," which implies that it manages its own garbage through recycling and water filtering without polluting the ocean. Also, as per Alex Mago, environmental officer for the ship, the waste management crew divides the Symphony of the Seas' rubbish into recyclables on the lower deck. Aluminium cans and cardboard are fed through a bailer. To keep the...
The Swedish electric performance car company, Polestar, has signed up with Stena Aluminium for the Polestar 0 project, which aims to create a genuinely climate-neutral car by 2030. Stena Aluminium in Älmhult, Sweden, is the leading aluminium producer using recycled raw materials. However, other than Stena Aluminium and Gränges, the new collaborators in the project include Vitesco Technologies, Schloetter, Autoneum, Stora Enso, TMG Automotive and Borgstena. Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Finland, and Sweden are among the countries represented by these companies. They specialize in electrical inverters, electroplating, interior and exterior materials, biomaterials, wood construction, coatings, textiles, flat rolled aluminium, knitted and woven materials, and recycled aluminium, as well as...
Recycling is a crucial component of the aluminium sector, which is commercially, technically, and environmentally sound. Similar is the situation with a group of volunteers at St. Bruno Parish in South Greensburg, who are acclaimed for their recycling initiative. In 2016, the Creation Care Team was established due to Pope Francis' encyclical from the year before. Locals have welcomed the Creation Care Team's drop-off recycling programme for commodities like aluminium cans and glass containers. Their efforts have been appreciated by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a Greensburg-based non-profit organisation whose goals include promoting clean-ups of litter and unlawful dumping around the state. According to Tom Niggel, one of the founding members of the volunteer group, "care for the natural...
The leader in aluminium recycling, Hydro Extrusion USA, has been accused of an air pollution crime and charged almost half a million dollars in penalties. The recycling firm has taken up the blame and agreed to pay up. As early as August 2022, Federal prosecutors had led the accusation statement against the recycling firm, which is an inseparable part of Norway-based aluminium giant Norsk Hydro. The legal proceedings are to be held under the Clean Air Act, wherein the party has been found one count guilty of negligence and endangering the atmosphere. The blame was directed at the company’s Dalles facility, which has been storing contaminated aluminium scrap and inducing air pollution during the recycling process. As cited in these official documents by the prosecutors and state...
The Italian company Inca Packaging, with headquarters in Porto Valtravaglia, north of Milan, engaged in creating aluminium and plastic components for packaging in the cosmetic sector, has revealed some exciting plans for 2023. However, these plans include new investors, a new management team, and a new logo. Since 1951, Inca has been a manufacturer of aluminium and plastic primary packaging for perfumes, cosmetics, and skincare products. The company's history is closely linked to the processing of aluminium components. Stefano Parodi, the new CEO of Inca, said, "We have learnt to shape this material into all possible shapes and sizes, regardless of the quantities required, thanks to the great flexibility of our industrial process." As a result of aluminium's 100 per cent and indefinitely...
Since the launch of the Beverage Container Refund Scheme (BCRS) in Malta, more than 20 million aluminium cans and bottles have been returned, enabling the firm in charge of the programme to meet the goal it set for the first two years of operations, said BCRS Malta Ltd chairperson Pierre Fava. Around 600 tonnes of containers have been sent for recycling in Bales, each weighing about 250 to 270 per kg. As per Fava, the firm was "extremely encouraged" by the response from the general public, which helped it achieve the goal it had initially set for its first two years: the collection of 70 per cent of all containers sold. "We're told by entities responsible for cleansing that they are finding fewer bottles in the streets and the countryside... which is very positive. The fact that we've...
In accordance with global sustainability goals, Novelis will invest R$ 6 million in February 2023 to install nearly 1,000 photovoltaic solar energy panels in Brazil's 14 aluminium can collection centres. The sum includes the cost of replacing gas-powered forklifts with electric machines. Beatriz Sobreira, the Senior Manager of Strategy and Sustainability at Novelis, Brazil, said, "This investment marks Novelis' first project in Brazil with a solar energy source. Our objectives of decarbonizing and producing increasingly sustainable aluminium are priorities for the company. We are focused on moving forward with initiatives that bring us closer to achieving these goals." The collecting centres will be self-sufficient in energy use thanks to the new sources, which can produce 603.8 MWh of...
Dundee Science Centre in Scotland is hosting an exhibition demonstrating the importance of recycling drinking cans. To turn the show into a real-life experience, Every Can Counts, a not-for profit organisation which promotes aluminium can recycling, has installed an ‘Infinity Room’. It features a giant drinking can and surrounds visitors with an illusion of being surrounded by an infinite number of suspended aluminium cans. During the exhibition, the narrator explains the process of aluminium can recycling and its benefits on the environment. The installation is made of 1500 cans and 25 square metres of mirrors. The ‘Infinity Room’ at Dundee Science Centre is open to all for free from Monday to Sunday, 9am to 4pm. Lorraine Lemon, head of business development at Dundee Science Centre,...
Trials are underway at Brisbane, Townsville, and Gold Coast stadiums that are testing alternatives to single-use drinking cups. Stirling Hinchliffe, the sports Minister, said, “At this past weekend's Brisbane Heat Big Bash games at The Gabba, the first innings of Stadiums Queensland's reusable drink container experiments were played." "We understand that enjoying a cold beer is an important part of the world-class event experience at a Queensland stadium, but we also want it to be sustainable." “The testing of reusable drink containers is a part of the Palaszczuk administration's continuous dedication to safeguarding Queensland's opulent way of life and our distinctive environment for coming generations”, the minister added. Three solutions were compared: cans of recyclable or reusable...
Alcore, an 83 per cent owned subsidiary of ABx Group, has reportedly received an initial $3.3 million of a nearly $7.6 million grant for developing an aluminium bath recycling plant at Bell Bay in Tasmania. The funding, which will be used for the plant's construction, has come from the Federal Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative. The MMI programme gives funding support to large-scale manufacturing projects that offer sector-wide benefits in the national interest. Alcore is establishing an aluminium bath recycling plant on NSW’s Central Coast owing to the proximity to a pilot aluminium smelter and the ready supply of waste products. The waste product generated during aluminium smelting as a result of high sodium content in alumina is known as “excess bath”. Alcore’s upcoming...
India’s aluminium scrap imports from the United States continued to decline in October 2022 by 2.39 per cent or 1,000 tonnes month-on-month to peg at 40,800 tonnes, found the US Census Bureau data. In September 2022, India’s aluminium scrap import volume decreased by 9.33 per cent or 4,300 tonnes M-o-M from 46,100 tonnes to 41,800 tonnes. That indicated India’s imports from the United States declined for the second month but at a slower rate. On a year-on-year calculation, India’s aluminium scrap imports from the United States edged a sharp decline of 15,600 tonnes or 27.66 per cent from 56,400 tonnes. From January to October 2022, India imported 397,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap in total from the United States, up by 13.11 per cent from 351,000 tonnes year-on-year despite the...
A recycling programme at a New South Wales prison has successfully streamlined 80 tonnes of waste from landfills along with generating crucial funding for homelessness irradicating initiatives. Since 2019, inmates under maximum security from South Coast Correctional Centre have been relentlessly sorting and recycling materials available inside the prison, like their aluminium meal trays, cardboard and drink containers. The programme coordinator, Steve Orton, exclaimed that the drive had unleashed a humungous impact on the prison's environmental footprint. "We've recycled about 56 tonnes of cardboard and about 26 tonnes of co-mingled waste," he stated. "It's quite a lot, and that stuff is not going to landfill anymore," Orton mentioned in a positive tone. "One hundred per cent of that...
On January 15, 2023, Emirates Global Aluminium, one of the leading producers of aluminium and the leading beverage producers, can-makers and waste management companies, announced the launch of the Aluminium Recycling Coalition, intending to drive a step-change in aluminium recycling in the UAE. The partnership was launched at EGA in Al Taweelah in the presence of UAE Economy Minister Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri and UAE Climate Change and Environment Minister Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri. The alliance comprises EGA, Veolia, Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company, Coca-Cola Al Ahlia Beverages Company, BEEAH Tandeef, Pepsi-bottler Dubai Refreshment, Crown Bevcan EMEA, Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company (Tadweer), Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company. Aluminium is crucial to the...
Carrefour Poland and the EKO-Punkt Packaging Recovery Organization have come together to test a new bottle vending machine scheme in the Silesian area, enabling customers to recycle empty aluminium beverage cans and plastic bottles. Customers will receive 15 cents from Carrefour in the form of coupons that can be used to make purchases right away for each package that is returned. The project was started to fulfil the Ministry of Environment and Climate's intentions for implementing a deposit system in Poland. Carrefour stated that the new approach offers a chance to improve the quantity of garbage recycled in Poland and boost the average Pole's family budget during periods of high inflation. "We are convinced that this solution will allow our customers to become even more involved in...
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s first forum for sustainable technology exports, “Export of Transformational Industries and Their Role in Promoting Global Environmental Sustainability”, was held under the patronage and in the presence of The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, His Excellency Mr Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro, His Excellency Mr Piyush Srivastava, The Ambassador of The Republic of India to The Kingdom of Bahrain and Mrs Safa Sharif Abdulkhaliq, Chief Executive Officer, Export Bahrain. At the forum, TAHA International’s technology licensing agreement for sustainable zero-waste aluminium dross processing with Indian sustainability leader Runaya Group was recognized and celebrated. Also in attendance were numerous officials representing the governments and private...
A not-for-profit organisation based in British Columbia, Recycle BC is increasing its range of materials for the residential blue box programme organised by the community. According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the new range will include items like aluminium foil baking dishes and pie plates, aluminium foil and thin gauge metal storage tins, plastic cutlery and straws. Single-use plastics are cited as some of the most typical objects discovered on British Columbian coasts. According to the ministry, newly allowed products, such as plastic sandwich bags, party cups, bowls, and plates, are often discarded after a single use. "This expanded materials list will allow more material to be recycled, keep it out of landfills and stop it from littering the environment....
The Grand Island Area Habitat for Humanity (Gihabitat) won their second straight 'Novelis Can grant’ for collecting over 18,000 pounds of aluminium cans across 14 locations in the Hall, Howard, Hamilton, and Merrick counties. There were two rounds of competition from May through July and August through November. "We know inflation has been really rough on a lot of our supporters. Being able to donate your aluminum cans helps not only recycling, which is great for the environment. It helps build the affordable homes here in Grand Island," said Alyssa Heagy, Executive Director at Grand Island Area Habitat of Humanity. According to Heagy, 34 aluminium cans recycled are equal to one, which in turn amounts to 68 cents per pound in terms of money. This helps contributors to contribute to...
