Page 8 from: October 2014

8 October 2014

N E W S

Speaking at an open day celebrating
the 125th anniversary of sensor sorting
equipment manufacturer Steinert,
Rummler praised Germany’s role as ‘a
technology leader when it comes to
developing innovative solutions that
make recycling more efficient and more

intelligent’. Initiated by the German
government, a special steering group
has been set up to stimulate exports of
technology originating in Germany,
including those relating to recycling in
which Steinert plays an active role.
State secretary Rummler noted that,

thanks to recycling, some Euro 10 bil-
lion per year is saved in terms of pri-
mary resources in Germany alone.
‘Obviously, frontrunners such as Stein-
ert help boost recycling, and provide
recyclers and society with the technol-
ogy needed to make further steps and
set new goals,’ he stated.
Pointing to the ever-increasing impor-
tance of using secondary materials,
Rummler added: ‘In 2050, the world
population will have grown to 9 billion
people and, in order to supply these,
more resources are necessary.’
At the Steinert event, current and future
recycling solutions were showcased.
One of them was Steinert’s latest in
mobile sensor-based sorting equip-
ment: The XSS T can be used for both
scrap and mineral handling. The first
Euro 800 000 ‘plug-and-play’ unit will
be shipped to Australia while a second
has been ordered by a customer in
Kazakhstan.
More than 400 customers and business
contacts from around the world gath-
ered at the company’s headquarters in
Cologne, among them representatives
of its subsidiaries in South America,
Eastern Europe and South Africa.

Another recent celebration to under-
line the Made in Germany technology
theme was hosted by sensor-based
systems manufacturer Tomra, which
opened its new customer service cen-
tre in Mülheim-Kärlich.
The facility enables customers to run tri-
als with the company’s machines. The
c u s t o m e r c e n t r e i n c l u d e s
four meeting rooms, a training room and
a research and development laboratory
where test results can be analysed. Eve-
line Lemke, minister of economy, energy
and climate protection for Germany’s
Rheinland-Pfalz state, emphasised at the
opening ceremony the importance of
innovative technology to boost recycling:
‘Thanks to modern systems like these,
Germany leads the way in Europe when
it comes to waste recovery.’
Meanwhile, shredding, conveying and
separation specialist Vecoplan has
unveiled a new technology centre in
Bad Marienberg which is claimed to be
‘the largest and most advanced’ devel-
opment centre in the field of environ-
mental technology.
www.steinertglobal.com

www.tomrasorting.com

www.vecoplan.de

Made in Germany ‘crucial’ to the
future of recycling
Worldwide, the sophisticated technology designed and devel-
opedbyGermanindustryisbecomingmoreandmorecrucialto
thefuturesuccessofrecycling,accordingtoThomasRummler,
statesecretaryforrecyclingatGermany’senvironmentministry.

By Martijn Reintjes

The XSS T is Steinert’s newest mobile
sensor-based sorting solution.

Aurubis,Boliden,Glencoreand
Umicore – four of the largest copper and
precious metals refiners – have collabo-
rated with the European Electronics
Recyclers Association (EERA) and the
European non-ferrous metals associa-
tion Eurometaux to define normative
requirements and governing principles
for e-scrap treatment. The result is the
‘WEEE end-processing standard’, which
was finalised in the spring.
The metals refiners have now signed an
agreement at EERA’s 10th anniversary
congress in Brussels on September 18

to implement the standard into their
total quality management within the
next two years. The aim is to create a
level playing field for e-cycling in Europe.
EERA is hoping other end-refiners will

become signatories to the standard and
is encouraging wider stakeholders ‘to
reference it as a requirement in their
contracts with WEEE take-back systems,
WEEE recyclers or end-processors’.

‘Sustainable management of resources
is a must in our industry, and the stan-
dard being signed today a demonstra-
tion that it can only be achieved through
rigorous and constant controls,’ says
Claude Bélanger, general manager of
Glencore company Horne Smelter. Umi-
core believes the initiative will under-
mine inappropriate recycling operations
that rely on environmentally unsound
and unethical sourcing, adds its execu-
tive vice-president of recycling Hugo
Morel. www.eera-recyclers.com

A new era for WEEE in Europe?

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