Page 82 from: Recycling International May/June issue 2023
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ENVA COMPLETES FACILITY
UPGRADE
UK player Enva has completed a £1.5 million
(EUR 1.7 million) upgrade at its dry mixed recy-
cling line in Colwick in Nottinghamshire. The
investment coincides with Nottingham City
Council extending its contact with the recycler
by another year.
The expansion has increased the plant’s overall
capacity by 10% and its material recovery rate by
an additional 5%. Key elements of the upgrade
include new optical sorters, a glass breaker and an
additional eddy current separator for the
increased recovery of non-ferrous scrap.
The modernisation and additional sorting capabili-
ty are expected to result in an even higher materi-
al quality, yielding higher prices. Residual waste
will be converted into sustainable fuels such as
SRF to offset the use of traditional fossil fuels.
‘The upgrade of our Nottingham facility will maxi-
mise recycling rates and material quality helping
to support the development of a more circular
economy,’ says Enva’s director of operations
Wayne Cornell. ‘It will also ensure we have the
flexibility needed to accommodate changing
waste profiles as a result of extended producer
responsibility and deposit return schemes.’
Cornell underlines the business is committed to
continued investment to maintain the highest pos-
sible levels of service for its customers.
Enva’s extended contract Nottingham City Council
builds on a partnership that started in 2006. It
means the waste manager will continue to process
approximately 20 000 tonnes of commingled recy-
clables from residents across the city.
ACTION ON USED TYRES NOW – NOT TOMORROW
‘EU policy should do more to support tyre recycling,’ insisted Poul Steen
Rasmussen, ceo of Genan, at EuRIC’s latest tyre recycling conference.
Fellow speakers agreed that immediate action was necessary to boost recy-
cling capacity, efficiency, safety and new applications.
‘To achieve the ambitious goals set out in the Green
Deal, it is essential that stakeholders from the entire tyre
value chain work closely together to solve sustainable
problems and increase the use of recycled materials from
tyres in many different products, including new tyres,’
Rasmussen told delegates in Brussels.
One of the main topics discussed was the proposed EU ban on the use of rub-
ber infill for artificial turf pitches and play areas. Client Earth’s legal specialist
Hélène Duguy set out the NGO’s approach, which prefers a ban to prevent plas-
tic pollution. Recyclers, however, are not convinced such a radical measure
would significantly shrink demand for recycled tyres.
This sparked a debate about assessing safety in the sector led by Juan Carlos
Gonzalez Garcia, from the Instituto de Biomecanica de Valencia, and Reinhold
Schultz, spokesman for the Silkeborgbanen project. They argued that the use of
risk management measures ‘demonstrated their effectiveness’ with the estimat-
ed release of microplastics under the limit suggested by the European
Chemicals Agency.
Both speakers advocate the immediate use of such measures to prevent the
release of microplastics, rather than banning rubber infill in artificial turf pitches
in eight years.
EuRIC’s secretary general Emmanuel Katrakis concluded: ‘It’s clear that the
European tyre recycling industry needs some regulatory signals, including on
market access through end-of-waste criteria and improved recyclability features
that do not compromise tyres’ safety.’
He said the tyre recycling industry was united behind prioritising tyres within the
framework of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products’ Regulation.
HARMONISE STANDARDS FOR CALCULATING RECYCLED PLASTIC CONTENT
More than 30 associations representing chemical and plastics industries across the EU are calling on policy makers
to adopt harmonised rules for calculating recycled content and to base them on ‘mass balance’.
‘To achieve a circular economy for plastics, the use of recycled materials
needs a boost,’ the signatories argue. ‘Alongside investments in climate
neutral production and supply chains, greater support is needed to pre-
vent waste generation, reuse plastics and the rapid scale-up of mechani-
cal, organic and chemical recycling.’
While they concede that mechanical recycling should remain the pre-
ferred choice because of cost, environmental performance and recycling
yields, the associations contend that investment in all technologies is
needed to increase recycling. In particular, chemical recycling allows plas-
tic waste unsuitable for mechanical recycling to be used to make new
chemicals and plastics.
In all, 31 associations have signed a joint letter to the European
Commission urging the adoption of an EU-harmonised rule for calculat-
ing chemically recycled content in the overall strategy towards EU recycled content targets. They include the Alliance for
Beverage Cartons and the Environment, Chemical Recycling Europe, European Trade Association of PVC Window System
Suppliers, Der Grüne Punkt, Petcore Europe, Plastics Europe and Vinyl Plus.
Production co-sited with existing large-scale industrial ‘virgin’ plastics production installations is seen as the most cost-effective
use of recycled feedstock. Integration into large-scale production avoids the additional cost, energy, and carbon footprint of
segregated production facilities. It is argued that this feedstock does not exist in physically separate flows in the chemical manu-
facturing complex and it is not possible to physically track where recycled feedstock ends up.
The ‘mass balance’ approach is seen as providing a set of rules for how to allocate the recycled content to different products
and to claim and market the content as ‘recycled’.
ROMCO GROUP BROADENS FOCUS TO COPPER SCRAP
Nigerian aluminium recycler Romco Group has expanded its product
range to include premium copper ingots. ‘Our dedication to unlocking
non-ferrous metal recycling potential in emerging markets has led us to
explore opportunities in copper,’ explains company ceo Raymond
Onovwigun.
Romco is now operating a copper induction fur-
nace at its facility in Lagos which has successful-
ly smelted copper into ingots with approxi-
mately 99% purity. Following extensive testing
in 2022, Romco shipped the first ingots to cen-
tral Asia this year, with production set to scale
up throughout 2023.
Onovwigun says this new milestone demonstrates Romco’s ability to adapt
and meet the world’s rapidly increasing demand for recycled materials. ‘Our
decision to produce copper ingots is informed by our understanding of
Africa’s potential as a truly circular economy,’ he says. ‘We are confident
that our copper ingots will contribute to the growth of the recycling indus-
try, including our partners and the wider communities we work in.’
He believes that a sustainable future is achievable through investment in
renewable resources, thus replacing wasteful, polluting practices. ‘Our cop-
per ingots are a tangible representation of this belief, and we are proud to
introduce this premium product for the global market.’
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