The Bureau of International Recycling says transboundary trade in ferrous scrap rose nearly 10 percent in 2021.
The Ferrous Division of the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling has published the 13th edition of its “World Steel Recycling in Figures,” which contains global steelmaking and ferrous scrap trading figures for the years 2017 to 2021. The statistics for 2021 showed that despite trade policy and supply chain disruptions, cross-border ferrous scrap trading increased last year.
The print edition of the 44-page booklet was distributed at the BIR Ferrous Division meeting in late May in Barcelona by BIR Ferrous Statistics Advisor Rolf Willeke and Ferrous Division President Denis Reuter of Germany-based TSR Recycling. The 2021 edition also contains a new subtitle: “Steel Scrap - a Raw Material for Green Steelmaking.”
Citing “official trade statistics” and German steel federation WV Stahl, the BIR says global external steel scrap trade—including trade between EU nations—amounted to 109.6 million metric tons last year, representing a 9.7 increase compared with 2020.
Turkey last year again was the world’s largest ferrous scrap importer, bringing in slightly less than 25 million metric tons, or 11.4 percent more than in 2020, according to BIR. The country’s main supplier was the United States, from which it booked 3.77 million metric tons (down 13.7 percent from the 2020 volume).
Brexit changed the scrap trade dynamic in the EU. In 2021, the EU-27 took over as the world’s second-largest steel scrap importer, raising its import volume by 31.1 percent to more than 5.36 million metric tons. The region’s new main supplier was the United Kingdom, which supplied more than 1.63 million metric tons of ferrous scrap to its former EU compatriots.
The U.S. was the world’s third-largest ferrous scrap importer last year, bringing in more than 5.26 million metric tons. The majority of that scrap (3.75 million metric tons, or 71 percent) came from Canada.
Nations with rising ferrous scrap appetites in 2021 were South Korea (up 8.9 percent to nearly 4.8 million metric tons); Thailand (+18 percent to 1.65 million metric tons); Malaysia (+9.8 percent to 1.53 million metric tons); and Indonesia (+3 percent to 1.46 million metric tons).
Countries buying less overseas scrap in 2021 included India (-4.6 percent to 5.13 million metric tons); Pakistan (-8.4 percent to 4.16 million metric tons); Belarus (-14.7 percent to 1.14 million metric tons; and Canada (-21 percent to 815,000 metric tons).
Although China was by far the world’s largest steelmaker in 2021, BIR says its statistics indicate ferrous scrap consumption in that nation was 2.8 percent lower last year. Nonetheless, the 226.2 million metric tons consumed there means the country remained the world’s largest scrap user, thanks in part to an 11.5 percent increase in scrap-intensive electric arc furnace (EAF) production.
Steelmakers in the EU-27 nations upped their ferrous scrap intake by 16.7 percent (to 87.85 million metric tons) in 2021. In the U.S., steelmakers melted 18.3 percent more scrap, rising to 59.4 million metric tons of consumption.
Scrap surplus nations and regions with active export markets included the EU-27 as the world’s leading steel scrap exporter in 2021. It grew its outbound shipments by 11.5 percent last year, shipping out 19.46 million metric tons, with Turkey buying 13.1 million million metric tons, or 67 percent of the total.
U.S. export activity increased by 6.1 percent last year, rising to 17.9 million metric tons. Its largest buyer was an overland destination, with Mexico acquiring 3.14 million metric tons, or 17.5 percent of that total.
The booklet also offers steel production statistics accumulated by the Brussels-based World Steel Association (Wordlsteel). Member nations of that organization contributed to a 2021 global crude steel production of 1.952 billion metric tons.
China’s steel output fell by 3 percent in 2021 compared with the year before, but it still accounted for 56.6 percent of the Worldsteel output total.
Steel output rose in many other nations in 2021 compared with the year before, including in the EU-27 (+15.4 percent); Japan (+15.8 percent); India (+17.9 percent); the U.S. (+18 percent); Russia (+5 percent); South Korea (+5 percent); Turkey (+12.7 percent); and Canada (+18.1 percent).
Also, according to Worldsteel, global basic oxygen furnace (BOF) production was essentially flat last year at 1.381 billion metric tons. EAF production, on the other hand, was higher by 14.4 percent compared with 2020, rising to 563 million metric tons.
The 13th edition of the BIR “World Steel Recycling in Figures” booklet can be viewed here.
Invema’s Wendt M6090 shredding plant features an array of equipment from North America.
Wendt Corp., Buffalo, New York, has announced the sale of a Wendt M6090 shredding plant to Honduras-based Invema. The company says this is the first shredder in Central America and provides Invema with a competitive advantage by creating a new premium product, increasing volumes and opening new markets.
Invema CEO George Gatlin started the company with his father in 1994 after recognizing the environmental and economic benefits recycling could bring to Honduras. It began with three employees recycling aluminum cans and has grown to 487 employees. Invema says it is now a recycling center for all nonorganic waste and the largest plastic recycler in the region, supplying Coca-Cola in Honduras and El Salvador with 50 percent recycled content for its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles.
“I’ve always wanted to be a step ahead,” Gatlin says. “I am a very competitive person, and I believe competition makes you try to be better.”
Gatlin says he recognized the opportunity for a shredder in the Honduras region for his company and the various people that supply Invema with material daily.
Invema’s Wendt M6090 shredding plant features an infeed conveyor, Bowe Disc Rotor, Wendt AutoDriver controls, a downstream system with a single mag stand and a 1,500 horsepower AC motor with a variable frequency drive (VFD). Representing the first Wendt shredder with a VFD, the technology allows Invema to maximize the shredder’s production while minimizing its operating cost by taking advantage of the drive's ability to control the motor's power consumption and peaks. Wendt Corp. says this is especially important due to the high cost and limited availability of power in the region.
Invema’s auto shredder operation will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2022 and be located outside of San Pedro in Honduras. Invema plans to process 5,000 tons per month with its new M6090 shredder and has plans for further expansion with additional processing equipment soon.
Gatlin says many factors went into choosing the shredder that would best fit the company's needs, including customer service and reputation.
“Wendt continues our strategic growth initiative as we expand into new markets and regions with the first shredder to be installed in Central America,” Wendt Corp. President Tom Wendt says. “We look forward to the opportunities the shredder will provide to Invema as well as continuing to grow our relationship with the Gatlin family.”
The company will provide waste collection services to the city of Port St. Lucie starting Sept. 5.
FCC Environmental Services, a waste management and recycling company that services customers across the U.S., has been unanimously awarded a $450 million contract by the Port St. Lucie City Council to provide waste collection services for the city.
The contract is good for seven years with an associated backlog of $300 million, in addition to a three-year extension option that brings the total backlog to $450 million. The venture has a total investment of $47 million and will add more than 110 employees to FCC’s current workforce.
U.K.-based scrap processor says sorting leads to lower carbon footprints.
United Kingdom-based European Metal Recycling (EMR) says its work to separate and recycle materials begins as soon as it arrives at one of the company’s 60 U.K .scrap yard sites.
”Ferrous metals such as steel require very different processes than nonferrous metals like copper, aluminum, and even precious metals,” says the multi-location processor. “Elsewhere, EMR’s plastic recycling business MBA Polymers deploys some of the world’s most advanced processing technologies.”
“Developing advanced separation processes means EMR can cut the quantity of material from our sites which ultimately goes to landfill,” says Anthony Marrett, managing director of EMR Invenens, in the U.K.
“Equally, our separation technology allows us to sell on materials with a very low carbon footprint to customers for a wide range of specifications for applications including new cars, electronics and construction.”
To focus on metal, producing high-quality recycled material involves a continual process of separation using traditional magnets and eddy current separators, but also over 100 other separation techniques across our various sites, says EMR. This gradually allows EMR to refine the metals toward our target of low carbon furnace ready materials.
Marrett describes the process as being like the branches of a tree: “Some of the removal techniques EMR uses can be quite simple but the sophistication comes with when and in which order you choose to utilize them,” he comments. “At each point there will be different lines for each metal like branches of a tree. As they break off, our teams are concentrating on separating the metals and removing unwanted material.”
Continues Marrett, “On the copper ‘branch’ this could mean separating off trace amounts of ferrous or aluminum, for example. This continues until we’re able to deliver a recycled metal that meets our customers’ exacting demands.”
The final product is then analyzed and quality controlled by EMR’s laboratories to confirm the purity of the metal. EMR says it has invested in new and better ways to separate both metals and plastics, to keep up with market expectations. These include cutting-edge technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“Our sites are supported by a research and development center where we are able to trial various other separation technologies,” says Marrett. “Alongside our team of experts, we have graduate students working on cutting-edge science to ensure we’re constantly improving and innovating our separation technology,”.
One of the most exciting areas of innovation is in the use of data to maintain quality, find efficiencies and ensure the chemical make-up of the material EMR sells is accurate within the smallest of margins, says the company.
“Data is becoming the most important element when developing new and advanced separation technique,” Marrett comments. “That means using the information from our laboratories to ensure our sites have the best information possible and that our research teams can find novel ways to use our existing separation equipment more efficiently.”
As the demand for sustainable material grows innovation is key, EMR says it will keep developing and enhancing its processes further, enabling the business to “preserve and recover more of Earth’s valuable resources” to create low-carbon products.
The organizations urge Gov. Jared Polis to veto the bill, which targets paper and packaging. However, some local recycling organizations and the APR support the bill.
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, and the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, have released statements opposing Colorado’s House Bill 1355—“Producer Responsibility Program for Recycling”—which is an extended producer responsibility (EPR) bill that targets paper and packaging, with the AF&PA urging Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to veto the bill.
“An EPR scheme is not the right policy approach for sustainable paper products,” the AF&PA says in a statement released Wednesday, May 11. “Colorado should instead focus on addressing underfunded and underdeveloped recycling programs.”
The NWRA says in a statement released May 2, “House Bill 1355 disadvantages Colorado businesses against out-of-state competition, punishes consumers and businesses, allows for speculation of recycling materials and doesn’t fix the problem.”
HB 1355 was introduced in March and states that companies that sell consumer-facing packaging and some printed paper join a producer responsibility organization which would then fund and manage a statewide recycling system. There are exceptions for small businesses and some highly regulated packaging, and an amendment would allow producers to submit an individual program plan as an alternative.
The bill passed the state House, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee and most recently passed its third reading on the Senate floor Wednesday, May 11. It has been sent to Polis for signature.
The AF&PA says EPR is not the right approach for paper as they are traditionally used for hard-to-dispose-of-items or products like mattresses or paint where a robust end-market does not exist. In a late-April briefing, the organization said there already is a robust end-market for paper, referencing a planned or announced approximately $5 billion in manufacturing infrastructure investments by 2024 “to continue the best use of recycled fiber in our products.”
“Colorado’s ‘Producer Responsibility Program for Recycling’ ignores the fact that paper recycling is a success,” the AF&PA says. “More paper by weight gets recycled from municipal waste streams each year than aluminum, glass, steel and plastic combined.”
It continues, “EPR could shift the economic burden of new recycling regulations from municipalities to Coloradans. These added costs would especially hurt small businesses and low-income households.”
According to the AF&PA, 61.1 percent of Coloradans have access to drop-off recycling while 49.8 percent of residents have access to residential curbside paper recycling. The group also says cities like Denver are utilizing innovative technologies to recycle more, including paper cups. The national paper recycling rate also remains high, meeting or exceeding 63 percent each year since 2009, the AF&PA says.
However, at least one MRF operator in the state has voiced its support for the legislation.
The Boston-based Product Stewardship Institute and Eco-Cycle, a Colorado-based nonprofit that operates a material recovery facility for Boulder County, have voiced their support for the legislation, referring to it as "a paradigm shift in the way paper and packaging are designed and managed in the United States."
“We worked for two decades with governments and producers to develop our packaging EPR policy model, which we provided to Recycle Colorado to support the drafting of this bill,” says Scott Cassel, CEO and Founder of the Product Stewardship Institute. “It will serve as an example to other states for years to come.”
Colorado’s combined recycling and composting rate is just 15 percent, less than half the national recycling and composting rate, according to an annual State of Recycling and Composting report by the Colorado Public Interest and Research Group and Eco-cycle.
“People believe we have a green state and are shocked to hear how low our diversion rates are,” state Rep. Lisa Cutter, one of the sponsors of HB22-1355. “This bill will protect our climate, create an easier and more consistent system of recycling throughout the state, and contribute to creating a circular economy. We've been laggards in this area and this gives us the opportunity to be leaders."
Kate Bailey, policy director at Eco-Cycle and lead author of the bill, says, “This policy will make it easy for all Coloradans to recycle more plastics, aluminum cans, glass bottles, cardboard, and printed paper. It will also help manufacturers and businesses by creating a more resilient domestic supply of recycled materials to make new products. Amid historic supply chain disruptions, rampant climate change, and pervasive plastic pollution, there has never been a more important time to invest in recycling."
Recycle Colorado, based in Longmont, worked to develop and pass the legislation, holding more than 70 meetings with state and national representatives from all sectors of industry, government and nonprofits. The bill puts responsibility for managing and educating consumers about packaging and paper waste on consumer brands and creates financial incentives for brands to use less packaging and paper overall and increases access to recycling across the state, the organizations that support the bill say.
Also voicing support for the Colorado legislation is the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, which describes it as "the strongest producer responsibility policy in the nation."
The APR says it " strongly support[s] HB22-1355 being signed into law to create a producer responsibility program to enhance the recycling of packaging and printed paper in Colorado. The producer responsibility program would require consumer brands to finance the recycling of their packaging and printed paper and invest in expanding and modernizing local recycling infrastructure so that programs can handle new packaging materials as well as those not currently recycled."
The association says not enough plastic is collected to meet the growing regulatory and corporate commitments to use more recycled plastics to make new products, adding, "APR recognizes producer responsibility as a crucial policy tool to increase the supply of recycled materials into the economy. Many plastic recyclers across the U.S. are not operating at full capacity and need more material to meet the demands for recycled resin. This policy is greatly needed to increase the supply of recycled plastics to meet existing and future manufacturing needs."
The APR adds, "We urge Gov. Pollis to sign HB22-1355 into law for EPR for packaging and paper products to reinvigorate recycling, reduce waste, and strengthen domestic supply chains."
As of the morning of May 24, the bill had not been signed into law.
Unlike Maine and Oregon’s packaging EPR laws, both passed last year, the bill's supporters say Colorado’s program would be fully funded and managed by producers.
*This article was updated May 24 to add comments from the organizations that supported the bill.