South-East Asia claims ever-bigger role in recycling

With new capacity popping up across Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, South-East Asia is well on the way to become a major metals recycling hub, industry experts told the latest BIR convention in Singapore.

Among the new facilities in recent months is stainless steel recycler Oryx’s yard in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It’s a modern reloading point for alloyed scrap.

‘This enables us to source more materials from within the region but also to supply mills in, let’s say Korea and India, without having to move scrap all over the world,’ Oryx’s commercial director Joost van Kleef told Recycling International on the sidelines of conference.

The company bought the 20 000 m2 site some 15 years ago for a planned steel mill. However, according to Van Kleef, that project was cancelled. ‘But look, now we can still use it.’

Oryx already operates a hub in Thailand, along with facilities in the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.

Copper, aluminium too

Other new projects have been launched by Chinese companies in Thailand, including a copper/brass recycling plant for Ningbo Jingtian Copper in Bangkok and an aluminium recycling and ingots production facility near Rayong for Delta Metal.

‘Initially, we will process some 8 000 tonnes of materials per month, with capacity to be increased up to 20 000 tonnes in the next two years or so,’ says Delta’s board director Anthony Wong.

New members

Asia, especially South-East Asia and India, is a fast-growing recycling region, BIR’s president Susie Burrage agreed. At a meeting with the press in Singapore ahead of the convention, she said most of the world recycling organisation’s new members came from India.

BIR currently has just over 1 100 registered members.

Some 1 200 delegates gathered in Singapore for BIR’s Autumn convention on 28 and 29 October.