EDITORIAL
3recyclinginternational.com | January/February | 2020
We, as editors of this magazine, do our
best to understand your daily business
and concerns. We visit yards, we talk to
entrepreneurs, facility operators and
scrap traders and we try to translate
your stories into interesting and useful
features and articles.
We sometimes hear what keeps you
awake at night. This morning, I was
chatting on the phone with Stephan
Karle of Karle Recycling in south-west
Germany. Karle is a successful and pas-
sionate recycler but things he could do
without increasingly challenge his busi-
ness. Obviously, one of these is tough
market conditions – but that’s not
Karle’s main concern. It’s usual for pric-
es to go up and down, that’s a fact of
life when you’re in the scrap business.
Ever-stricter rules and regulations also
frustrate him and his fellow recyclers
both within and outside Germany – but
even that’s not the main issue at the
moment. Karle’s biggest concern, and
it is causing sleepless nights, is scrap
fires.
The increased influx of highly flamma-
ble batteries is saddling recyclers
worldwide with lithium-ion ‘time
bombs’. So far, Karle and his team
have had eight fires so he feels any day
without a fire is a lucky day. As the
entrepreneur says on pages 38-39 of
this issue: ‘Every time the phone rings,
I think: O God, please, not again.’
Karle’s story is not an isolated one.
More and more companies like his
have experienced lithium-related infer-
nos at their facilities. Recyclers like
Stephan Karle are being forced to
invest large sums in technology and
equipment to detect fires at the earli-
est stages. It’s tough that these entre-
preneurs have to confront a problem
they did not create.
Martijn Reintjes
Chief Editor, Recycling International
PS: In July, Recycling International will
launch a special edition on plastics.
And in our March/April magazine, we
will spotlight the latest trends in shred-
ding and shredder technology. More
details on pages 11-12 of this issue.
Recycling International
Informaticaweg 3
7007 CP Doetinchem
The Netherlands
The heat is on
for recyclers
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