Page 28 from: Recycling International May/June issue 2023
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Recover, recycle, rewind: looking
back on 25 years in scrap
When reviewing the events and stories that have shaped the recycling industry for
almost three decades, where do you begin? Here, we capture the history of the
sector, and of course Recycling International, during the past 25 years. As well as
the 25 highlights, there are contributions from two of our earliest readers.
#2: WASTE DIRECTIVES
Another early editorial feature con-
cerned the debate between waste ver-
sus end-of-waste. Our third issue from
1998 has an in-depth article on the
complex subject. Despite continued
calls for harmony, transparency and
collaboration across the value chain,
opinions still vary. On a positive note,
dedicated EU waste directives (for
cars, e-scrap and batteries) coming
into force in the mid-2000s have paved
the way for tangible, targeted change.
#3: PASSING ON THE LEGACY
Family businesses have always been
the backbone of the recycling industry.
We couldn’t agree more with German
consultancy expert Björn Voigt (former-
ly head of TSR Recycling). Examples of
successful family-led companies
include US player Utah Metal Works,
Desco Electronics Recycling in South
Africa, Schuy Recycling in Germany
and Belgian Scrap Terminal (which cel-
ebrated 100 years in the business just
last year).
#4: FIGHTING THE CRT FLOOD
While the reign of cathode ray tube
televisions has long passed, the indus-
try is still dealing with the aftermath. In
2013, Kuusakoski US launched
KleanKover, a solution for glass
extracted from these devices, in a bid
to tackle the annual processing capaci-
ty shortfall of around 80 000 tonnes
across North America and Mexico.
Sadly, in the years following, thousands
of CRTs are reportedly still sitting in
warehouses awaiting treatment.
#9: TAXING TIMES FOR RECY-
CLERS
The ripples across the industry after
the ‘big crash’ of 2008 were visible for
a long time. The global economic melt-
down, coupled with import policies,
saw scrap volumes into China drop by
at least 30% in the following years.
Relying on intuition, creativity and con-
nections in scrap proved to be more
important than ever to survive the
harsh climate.
On the one hand, the recycling indus-
try over the past 25 years has mirrored
other world markets by becoming
more of a global village. On the other
hand, different laws, business models
and economic incentives present us
with a colourful and frequently unpre-
dictable patchwork of players – who
don’t always play by the same rules.
The following developments are meant
to show the versatile and dynamic
character of those in the recycling
industry. They are presented in no par-
ticular order although, to us, the first
one is an obvious choice.
#1: FIRST ISSUE HITS THE
STREETS
Do you remember May 1998? We do
because it marks the birth of Recycling
International. The cover story about
radioactive scrap is still relevant today,
although technology has improved in
tandem with strict rules regarding in-
transit and on-site safety.
A U T H O R Kirstin Linnenkoper & Martijn Reintjes
BIR’s
fifty-year fight
for recycling
Asian financial
crisis impacts
metals markets
Radioactivity:
a metal processor’s
worst nightmare
May 1998, No. 1 July/August 2004, No. 6
EMR – a recycling
heavyweight
PHB and Envirotec
Symbiotic
plastics recycling
partners
Battery
recycling update
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