Page 13 from: December 2011
N E W S www.recyclinginternational.com
European composites industry
association EuCIA has launched the
Recycling & Sustainability Platform of
the European Composites Industry with
the objective of bringing together the
industry, showing the recycling solutions
available for composites and communi-
cating with one voice the industry’s
sustainability message.
EuCIA’s General Manager Alisa De Back-
er, who has worked together with the
composites industry over recent years in
highlighting the significance of such a
platform, comments: ‘The combination
of high properties of composites and
their green credentials must be a winning
formula for the future of our sector. Nev-
ertheless, as an industry we need to get
together and enforce our message to our
suppliers and EU legislators.’
EuCIA President Volker Fritz says: ‘The
new platform is open to all players in the
composites and composites-related value
chain. Industry collaboration on sustain-
ability is key. For the next period, we will
be identifying main priorities and oppor-
tunities for the business. Another objec-
tive of the platform is to support and
educate industry across Europe on how
to manage sustainability, what are the
recycling options, how to set waste man-
agement in place and facilitate access to
information and to the right contacts
across Europe.’ www.eucia.org
Spain is set for its first plant dedicated
to the recycling of solar panel systems.
Domestic renewable energy provider Elec-
tria is teaming up with Poseidon Solar of
India – which provides silicon recycling
services for the global solar industry – in a
Euro 3 million investment in a plant to be
known as PVR3. Around 20 direct jobs will
be created. ‘In the coming years, we will
have to regulate the recycling of waste
components and renewable energy, a sec-
tor which shows exponential growth,’ says
José Luis Manzano, President of Electria.
‘The recycling of the modules, whether
production waste or from photovoltaic
power plants, is essential. It will create a
niche in the recycling industry, bringing a
new market with high added value.’
According to the Spanish firm, silicon raw
material accounts for 70% of the total
cost of a solar cell. Electria estimates that
at least 10 000 tonnes of photovoltaic
panels need to be recycled each year in
Europe; this figure will rise to around
15 000 tonnes by 2015, and to approxi-
mately 35 000 tonnes by 2020, it is
believed. The company is also considering
the building of a plant to recycle wind
turbine blades and establishing a labora-
tory where the recycling element
of emerging technologies can be
researched. www.poseidonsolar.com
European platform for
composites recycling
Sale of Sydney lead
joint venture
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A jointly-owned lead recycling facil-
ity in Sydney, Australia, has been
acquired by Renewed Metal Technolo-
gies (RMT) for approximately Euro 60
million (A$ 80 million).
Secondary lead producer Australian
Refined Alloys (ARA), owned on a 50/50
basis by the world’s largest producer of
refined zinc Nyrstar NV and recycler Sims
Metal Management (SMM), operates
two facilities – the one in Sydney and
another at Laverton North in Melbourne.
Following the sale, Nyrstar and SMM will
retain the latter facility which will con-
tinue to be operated as a joint venture;
production in Melbourne amounted to
around 17 200 tonnes in 2010. Total
lead production at the Sydney facility
last year was approximately 20 700
tonnes.
RMT is a privately-held company that
specialises in the recovery of renewable
resources, owning and operating a sec-
ondary lead producing facility in Wagga
Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
Assuming a sale price of Euro 60 million,
which is subject to a customary working
capital adjustment at completion, Nyr-
star anticipates achieving a profit of
approximately Euro 15 million on the
sale of its share in the Sydney facility.
www.rmt.au.com
Pioneering photovoltaic
recycling project in Spain
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