China
Recycling set to boom in China
A recent report entitled ‘Recycling Markets in China’ by BCC Research has revealed that recycling rates in China are set to increase dramatically by 2013. The report looks at the figures for 2007 compared with the projections for 2008 and predicts a compound annual growth of 9.1% per year until 2013.
The recycling markets affected will be metal, paper, plastic and tyres. Metals, including aluminium, copper, iron and steel have the largest share. The metal figures for 2007 stand at 76.7 million tonnes and are set to increase to 123.2 million tonnes by 2013. Recycled paper is the second largest and is set to increase from 48.6 million tonnes to 90 million tonnes in 2013.
China’s economy has developed sustainably and rapidly from 2003 to 2007. The indicators show that there will be many opportunities for expansion in the recycling sector, and waste disposal companies will be looking to expand operations there.
USA & EUROPE
Eriez and Toratec form alliance
Eriez Magnetics and Toratec have joined forces to provide a combined metal separation system. The technology combines magnetic separation, Eddy Current separation and sensor-based sorting systems which employ both air and paddle rejection methods.
Eriez is a long-established name providing magnetic, vibratory and inspection applications, as well as Eddy Current separators, metal detectors and high-intensity magnetic separators. Toratec is a 15-year-old company that has focused on bulk separation and sensor-technology.
The system will use the name of Toratec’s system, the Eco Tower Sort, but will feature an Eriez Rare Earth Magnetic Drum and Eriez RevX Eddy Current Separator which separate the majority of stainless steel and aluminium, before the waste stream is passed through the Toratec Air Metal Sensor System where wires and smaller metals are recovered.
USA
Waste Management announces new recycling facility
US waste giant Waste Management, Inc. has announced its intention to build a brand new single-stream recycling facility in Florida, as part of its ongoing commitment to triple its recycling by 2020. The plant will be run in partnership with Miami-Dade County and will have the capacity to process up to 1000 US tons (907 metric tonnes) of recyclable material per day.
‘Items recycled at our state-of-the-art facility provide Miami-Dade County residents significant environmental benefits,’ says Patrick DeRueda, president of Waste Management Recycle America.
‘The single-stream recycling process makes it much easier for our residents to recycle,’ said Kathleen Woods-Richardson, director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management. ‘With more than 340,000 households, the new Miami-Dade recycling programme can make a tremendous positive impact on our environment.’
UK
Steel manufacturer aims for 100% recycling
Corus Colors, a producer of pre-finished steel, has paired up with ACM Waste Management Plc. and facilities management provider Covion with the aim of increasing its recycling capacity. The two companies were set the task of making changes at Corus Colors to prevent its waste being sent to landfill.
Since the introduction of a range of waste management equipment and recycling initiatives practically all of the company’s waste is now recycled.
ACM National Sales Manager, Alan Amor says, ‘Introducing waste management practices, like the ones at Corus, offers a number of benefits to a business including better operational efficiency, significant cost savings and perhaps most importantly of all, improved environmental performance.’
UK
London Olympics construction waste to be recovered
London’s Olympic Delivery Authority has committed to recovery and reuse of 90% of the waste creating through the building phase of the project. An integrated Environment and Sustainability Management System, which has been ISO 14001 certified, has also been developed for the project.
Veolia Environmental Services have been awarded a contract to establish a centralized waste management service and waste consolidation centre on site, in order to ensure waste is diverted from landfill.
Dan Epstein of the ODA says, ‘As we move into the construction phase, we have set ourselves another incredibly ambitious target to recover and reuse or recycle 90% of the construction waste...
‘This demonstrates how we are integrating sustainability into every element of the construction of the Olympic Park and we hope it leaves a legacy for future projects.’
FRANCE
More recycling of textiles
New figures have been reported by Dev.export.com which states that France produces 0.7 million tonnes of textiles per year but only 0.1 million tonnes is recovered. In light of this, a new target of 0.12 million has been set for 2012.
CHINA
China’s new stance on WEEE
China has recently approved a draft law relating to the disposal of WEEE. The legislation, which drew support at an executive meeting of the State Council, China’s cabinet, states that a centralized system will be put in place to treat WEEE, and recycling of waste electrical items will be encouraged. A special fund will be set up to support this work.
China has long been one of the world’s major producers of electrical equipment due to its soaring population of 1.3 billion and its recent rapid improvement in standards of living. The debate over the WEEE issue has been in progress for the past few years and it is hoped that this new legislation will provide the much-sought-after solution.
The responsibility for dealing with WEEE items will fall upon the manufacturers of these items as well as retailers, repair and customer service staff and recycling companies. The new initiative should mean that everyone involved is working to the same end result and vastly improve the once-worrying situation.
INDIA
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UK recycling being dumped in India
A report on British television channel ITV revealed that household waste being collected for recycling in the UK is being illegally dumped in India. Waste which has been separated at source by the householder is collected by local authorities in the UK and then passed onto waste subcontractors, who are under no obligation to reveal how they recycle it.
EU regulations ban countries like Britain from sending waste abroad for illegal dumping, but there is a loophole in the law which means subcontractors get away with sending waste abroad if it has already been separated and is therefore classified as recycling.
A receipt for CDs found on an illegal waste dump in Tamil Nadu was traced to the home of a British man living in Essex, UK. Various other items of British waste, including UK newspapers, were also discovered at the dump.
Australia
Australian computer society tackles weee recycling
The ICT industry and Federal Government of Australia have been approached by the Australian Computer Society and asked to consider a new two-step approach which addresses the environmental impact of WEEE.
The first proposal is the introduction of a ‘take back’ policy for domestic and commercial ICT manufacturers, and the second is to widen the scope of Energy Star Rating Standards for domestic appliances to include more lifestyle and office technology products.
Under the scheme manufacturers would be required to take back old products when new hardware is purchased in order to recycle them for future resale. They would also need to produce an annual report on hardware policy.
‘We are looking at the bigger picture, with improved technologies we are minimizing environmental impacts, at the same time as extending ICT hardware life spans and reducing long term e-Waste’, says ACS President, Kumar Parakala.
UK
Scotland’s household recycling increase
Best practice reports in Scotland have highlighted that great progress has been made in the area of household recycling. The reports, published by Waste Aware Scotland and Remade Scotland reveal that Scotland has optimized recycling services and increased recycling rates. This is good news for the country which has a commitment to sending zero waste to landfill by the year 2020.
Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Richard Lochhead says, ‘In recent years, Scotland has been making steady progress in increasing recycling rates. However, the Scottish Government is committed to achieving a recycling rate of 70% by 2025.’
Europe
WEEELABEX PROVES POPULAR with EC LIFE+ COMMITTEE
In the approach to the European Parliament’s plenary sitting in October, the European Life+ committee has approved the WEEE Forum’s four-year ‘WEEE label of excellence’ proposal ‘WEEELABEX’, meaning the European Parliament may endorse it too.
WEEELABEX seeks to redress the current European situation with regard to WEEE recycling which has seen countries interpreting and applying the Waste Framework Directive differently. This has led to unfair competition among companies and a patchwork of different treatments happening all over the continent.
WEEELABEX aims to level the playing field and create one set of standards to be applied across Europe. Operators without the label will be subject to easier scrutiny than those who have achieved the standard.
Australia
Brisbane’s new recycling centre
A new AUS$6.5 million (US$5.3 million) recycling plant has been opened in the Queensland capital Brisbane. The plant is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 6000 tonnes per year. The Murrarie centre will enable the recovery of 15% more plastic from the city’s recycling bins.
‘We’ve got other material recovery facilities in Brisbane,’ says spokesperson Geoff Potts of the Visy Recycling movement. ‘But none of them are as sophisticated as the new automated plastic recovery facility...’
Europe
Ciwm and letsrecycle.com team up for european futuresource event
The Chartered Institute of Waste Management (CIWM) has appointed letsrecycle.com as an official media partner to provide strategic marketing support for Futuresource – its new European waste event. In partnership with the Environmental Services Association (ESA), Futuresource aims to pool the expertise of the professional waste industry.
‘We are delighted to be working with leading information provider letsrecycle.com on Futuresource. As a key media partner, they will play an important role in promoting the event to a wide audience and establishing it as the essential diary date for sustainable waste and resource management professionals across the UK, Europe and farther afield,’ says CIWM chief executive Steve Lee.
Managing Director of letsrecycle.com Steve Dickinson said, ‘Our appointment by CIWM to help it grow Futuresource is a significant development for us and supports the move by CIWM and the Environmental Services Association (ESA) to deliver just what the sector wants – a flagship international event...’
UK
Virodor increases waste separation capacity
Following a £450,000 (US$ 891,162) investment in a new waste separation plant Viridor now has the capacity to increase its recycling rate of materials at its Trafford Park Recycling centre in Manchester up to 65%. Previously the site had recycled 20–30% of its trade and construction waste.
The material will be mostly composed of clean co-mingled commercial and industrial waste. Waste will be collected from areas in north west England and be processed by a trommel. Soil and grit separated by the trommel will be used to cover waste residues at Viridor’s landfills while larger particles will go on to be recycled.
Plastic film, cardboard, clean wood and metals, as well as materials which can be used for construction, will all be recovered by the new system.
‘Having selected and installed a robust system for optimum performance, we will be employing and training up to 10 additional workers to ensure maximum value,’ said Paul Southwell, manager of Viridor’s site at Trafford Park.
The netherlands
Nihot introduce new plug & play drum separator machine
Amsterdam-based waste and airtechnology company Nihot has announced the launch of a new version of its SDS 500-C Single Drum Separator. The new model has been built with customers who want a machine on-site and operational in the shortest amount of time possible in mind, and is a semi mobile Plug and Play version of its current recycling machine.
The sorter is a compact unit which fits into a 20ft (6.09m) container and is equipped with input and output conveyors for the separated waste streams. All motor drives have been pre-connected for ease of use and the machine features a compact filter unit.
Nihot say that, dependent on circumstances at the waste processing site facilities, this machine should be operational within four hours of delivery.
The SDS 500-C can be used for construction and demolition waste, commercial and industrial waste, crushed aggregate fractions, waste incinerator bottom ash, glass, WEEE and metal scrap fractions.
The input fraction size can be anything between 10 and 150mm and the input capacity is 40t/h depending on the type of input material.
Advantages for the customer will include compact construction and quick mobilization, high separation efficiency and a relatively high capacity. The machine is relatively quiet and comes with a self-cleaning filter unit.
