Page 14 from: Recycling International January/February issue 2023

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STRUGGLING UK STEELMAKERS TO GET STATE
FUNDING

The UK government is expect-
ed to offer hundreds of millions
of pounds of support to help
Britain’s two biggest steelmak-
ers switch away from coal-fired
blast furnaces and help with
higher energy costs.

The BBC reports that £300 million (EUR 340 million) grants will be
offered to both British Steel and Tata Steel UK in the coming weeks.
This follows intervention from three UK trades unions which
approached the Government in late January saying the industry was
‘a whisker away from collapse’. British Steel, which is owned by
Chinese company Jingye, had also asked for support to prevent the
closure of its blast furnace at Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire.
The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
told the BBC it was working closely with the steel industry to secure
what it describes as ‘a sustainable and competitive future’. The BBC
adds that sources at Tata Steel, the Indian-owned company which
runs the UK’s largest steel plant in Port Talbot in South Wales,
believe £300 million may not be enough to persuade it to make the
vast investment needed, estimated at up to £3 billion.

DOUBLE WIN FOR E-CYCLER ERI
US electronics recycler ERI has opened a new recycling facility in Arizona
reflecting the company’s steady growth.

The ‘state-of-the-art’
site in Goodyear brings
ERI’s recycling facilities
to a total of nine.
Company ceo John
Shegerian describes the
town near Phoenix as a
‘strategically ideal loca-
tion’.
‘We continue to grow
exponentially and this
new recycling plant will
help us achieve even
greater balance as we
serve every zip code in
the United States, while
providing us with a con-
venient location to ser-

vice the robust and growing Southwest market,’ he says.
The entrepreneur adds that ERI is 100% carbon neutral across its operational
emissions. ‘We’re incredibly proud to have voluntarily taken this critical next
step in our ongoing mission to protect the planet.
‘We have been working towards being carbon neutral since our very inception,
implementing carbon-reducing measures such as recycled furniture, zero emis-
sion vehicles used by our sales team, energy efficient lighting, electric forklifts
on our facility floors, shifting to off-peak demand energy usage and fleet man-
agement.’

HUB TO RADICALLY UPGRADE SA
BATTERY RECYCLING
ACE Green Recycling has partnered with Tabono
Investments to establish a joint venture dedicated
to battery recycling in South Africa.

The pair are to build two advanced battery recycling
plants in the Johannesburg region. The facilities will
separately process and recycle lead-acid and lithium-
ion batteries utilising ACE’s proprietary technology that
creates zero Scope 1 emissions by operating without
fossil fuel-based heating.
ACE, which has a 51% stake, and Tabono say their mis-
sion is to ‘bring radical change’ to the country’s still
developing battery recycling sector.
‘Green energy is on the rise in South Africa and with it,
battery usage,’ says Liran Assness, co-founder of
Tabono. ‘Without dedicated recycling facilities, the
country is losing valuable materials like lithium and
cobalt. We plan to take up this opportunity.’
‘Combining our expertise with Tabono will ensure
development of safe and sustainable closed-loop solu-
tions for battery materials within South Africa,’ adds
ACE ceo Nishchay Chadha.
He compliments Tabono for its ‘vast experience’ in the
minerals and industrial services industries across
Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa.

INNOVATORS SOUGHT FOR GLOBAL
RECYCLING DAY
Global Recycling Day in 2023 will focus on the theme of
innovation when the organisers choose this year’s ‘Recycling
Heroes’.
The Global Recycling Foundation, which organises the special
day, is looking for nominations for Recycling Heroes 2023 from
individuals to business leaders, sole traders to
multinational businesses, or towns and cities that have actively
recycled during one of the toughest economic periods for many
years. Winning entrants will receive US$ 1 000 (EUR 950) and
their ideas will be publicised on the Global Recycling Day’s
social media channels globally.
Ranjit Baxi, president of the foundation, says: ‘The whole world
is going through difficult economic times and many countries
are suffering the consequences of climate change. It is vital that
everyone should play their part, and recycling is an important
element in the struggle against global warming.
‘In past years our Recycling Heroes have demonstrated that
every individual and business great or small can have a positive
impact.’
An additional 10 prizes of US$250 will go to those who can pro-
duce the most innovative re-use of everyday items. Suggestions
include a telling image, art or an idea for a commercial applica-
tion to recycle waste into a useable product.
Entries for both competitions closes on 3 March 2023 and the
winners will be announced on Global Recycling Day on 18
March.
Entries should be submitted to : [email protected]
tion.org

FAIRMAT RAISES CAPITAL TO ADVANCE CARBON FIBRE
RECYCLING
French start-up Fairmat
has raised EUR 34 million
in funds to help advance
its carbon fibre recycling
solutions.
Fairmat will use the invest-
ment to accelerate the
deployment of its robotised
industrial capabilities,
including a newly inaugu-
rated automated sorting
plant. The start-up is also better positioned now to expand its recycling
technology into new markets. Initial plans involve the US in 2023 with other
projects to be launched in Spain and Germany soon after.
The Fairmat workforce will grow from 80 to about 400. Company ceo Ben
Saada says the company has raised EUR 44 million in funding to date.
‘Recycling advanced materials like carbon fibre composite is one of the
strongest actions we can take to accelerate the decarbonisation of the man-
ufacturing sector,’ Saada says. ‘We are thrilled to see our vision of the next
generation of materials coming to life as we accelerate our production and
expand our international development.’

GRAVITA INDIA OPENS ALUMINIUM
RECYCLING PLANT IN TOGO
Gravita India’s subsidiary in Togo, west Africa,
has started commercial production of aluminium
cast alloys from a new recycling plant. The site
has a capacity of around 4 000 tonnes per year.
Gravita Togo SAU expects its operations to yield a
revenue of around EUR 6.7 million. The company
has been sourcing scrap from Togo for the last
three years via a collection network put in place
before reaching this phase. EUR 1.3 million was
invested in the new facility.
The Togo plant will cater to the needs of the auto-
motive sector in Asia with key markets said to be
China, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Vietnam.
Gravita India owns similar recycling facilities in
Tanzania, Senegal, Mozambique and India. This is
in alignment with the company’s vision of replicat-
ing the recycling business around the world.

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