Recylex affected by a shortage of scrap

France – Lead, zinc and plastics recycler Recylex turned in a ‘solid’ production performance over the first nine months of 2016 despite the limited availability of materials for recycling, according to chairman and ceo Yves Roche.

Lead sales were 11% lower than in the opening three quarters of last year owing to ‘a shortage of scrap batteries for recycling following the mild conditions of last winter and the continued pursuit of the selective purchasing policy’.

The treatment plants operated by Recylex SA in France and Harz-Metall GmbH in Germany recycled 80 586 tonnes of scrap batteries – 14% less than in the same period of 2015. To make up for the reduced availability of materials for recycling, the group processed more lead concentrates with a lower lead content than the secondary materials in scrap batteries.

There was a year-on-year contraction in the sales generated by the group’s scrap zinc recycling business owing to ‘a deterioration in commercial conditions’ resulting from the drop-off in zinc prices when compared with the first nine months of 2015.

As regards its plastics activities, Recylex points to ‘the reduced competitiveness of recycled materials by comparison with virgin polypropylene owing to the low level of oil prices’