80
tive sadly failed,’ Chehadé adds, shak-
ing his head. ‘I suspect it is because
there wasn’t enough promotion. There
were no posters, no commercials and
so the machines stood in a dark, for-
gotten corner of the shop, practically
unnoticed. It’s such a shame, isn’t it? I
mean, who can use this wonderful
take-back scheme if no one knows
about it in the first place?’
He insists recyclers should be louder
and demand more attention. ‘They
have to work together with enthusias-
tic partners to make collection top of
the mind for consumers and local leg-
islators.’
Even so, he maintains the future is
bright for those specialising in
e-scrap. ‘Momentum is building. More
cost-efficient solutions are needed to
make e-cycling commercially viable.
E-scrap management counts as a com-
petitive market that still sees rare
earths getting lost. It’s high time we
do what we can to reclaim more than
just the typical technology metals
from the urban mine.’
NEXT GENERATION TECH
‘Something big is coming, just you
wait,’ Reiner Elfring, marketing man-
ager at Spaleck, tells Recycling
International in Dortmund. ‘For now,
this show is a good moment to recon-
nect with our clients. Considering the
pandemic aftermath was patchy with
new breakouts occurring at different
times at different places, we’re enjoy-
ing the chance to meet up with Asian
customers. We’re ready to put this
chapter behind us.’
Elfring teases: ‘In the next few
months, and certainly in time for the
IFAT expo next year, we will have a
new scoop to share.’
The conversation then takes a turn into
cutting-edge technologies starting to
make their marks on the sector.
‘Artificial intelligence (AI) is having an
incredible impact on our entire world,
not just sorting technology,’ Elfring
says. ‘Sure, for us it’s great news to see
recovery rates increase. To witness
complex waste streams being carefully
mapped and filed into detailed data
libraries. It takes away the question
marks while boosting our bottom line.’
Indeed, start-ups inspired by the AI
principle are popping up like daisies,
with seeds spreading into emerging
markets. Newcomers include Imdaad
in the United Arab Emirates, ASH
Plastics in Nigeria, and Waste
Robotics in Canada. Similarly, brand
owners like PepsiCo, Proctor &
Gamble and Nestlé launched the
Perfect Sorting Consortium last year
to improve packaging waste sorting
using AI.
Elfring concludes: ‘At the same time, I
can’t help but wonder: is AI a step for-
ward? What are the downsides? Does
it make people lazy, less creative? Will
it hollow out our privacy? Will it create
a society of people depending on it?
In that sense, technology can be a
friend – but also an enemy.’
Hendrik Haverhoek says Dutch player RKR
Recycling may expand into automotive
batteries.
Johann Fink (left) says Line Technology’s
equipment is being installed at a new R&D
hub in Germany.
Spaleck’s Reiner Elfring (left) says the company will release a novelty in the coming
months.
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