Glass recycler ‘prefers commingled material’

Delegates to the annual Larac conference held in Kenilworth this week were presented with conflicting views from reprocessors over whether material contamination was a problem or something to be welcomed.

In a sesson on the outlook for commodities, support for mixed glass collections generated via materials recycling facilities was expressed by Tim Gent, director of glass recycling firm Recresco. This was in contrast to presentations from other speakers, including Robbie Warden of UPM and Rick Hindley of Alupro who had spoken of the difficulties that contamination can cause reprocessors.

Mr Gent, director of glass recycling firm Recresco, which has a number of plants and contracts, surprised delegates when he said: Regardless of contamination from a MRF, we can take itand colour separateit. We prefer glass to source separated materialsimply because it is drier and we can get it cheaper.

After taking a gentle swipe at the paper sector saying that we like to have your paper as it helps keep the glass dry”, Mr Gent said he aims to be buying one third of the glass in the UK in the future.

The Recresco directoralso commented on the PRN situation which has seen glass PRN prices rise substantially in recent weeks. The price of the PRN is feeding through into the market and is being reflected in the price support we can give to local authorities.

GLASS PACKAGING RECYCLING 2010-2012

Mr Genthighlighted the rise in the value of the PRN this year up from 5 per tonne in January to 80 now and showed delegates the glass packaging recycling figures (see chart above) for the past three years. Noting the substantially lower levels in the first half of 2012 with second quarter figures 80,000 tonnes down on 2011 – he warned: Some of the obligated companies dont realise that rather than paying 1 million now,if they delaythey will end up paying 10 million or they wont meet their targets.

As to why the figures were different, he alleged there may have been double counting and he also referenced fraud in the sector there has been a recent prosecution for the wrongful issuing of glass PRNs.

Going forward, Mr Gent suggested that some of the obligated companies might soon find ways to reduce their obligation if they looked more closely at their glass packaging figures to ensure there were no discrepancies. And, he said that there were some factors that might lead to higher prices in 2013 such as less PRNs carried over and there being depleted stockpiles of material but government intervention could change things and that obligated companies might be able to reduce their obligations if they revisited their data.

Paper

The LARAC delegates were updated on the waste or recovered paper market by Robbie Warden, national sourcing manager for UPM, who explained that the companys Shotton recycled newsprint mill was the largest of its type in the UK producing 500,000 tonnes. He added that the company at the site also has a MRF with a 270,000 tonne capacity as well as three mixed paper sorting lines.

Robbie Warden of UPM advised councils to strive for quality in materials for recycling

Mr Warden described how prices for recovered paper had fallen in 2012 with less demand for the material as. He explained that the the public were not spending on new products, the Euro crisis was undermining peoples confidence and in the US growth is slow as exports are down.

China remains the engine room and it continues to grow but not at the rate it has been growing. Forecasters expect 2013 to be more difficult.

One thing that the sector does have control of, said Mr Warden, is of the materials we manage. We take in 640,000 tonnes of recovered fibre every year but we get 20,000 tonnes per annum of unwanted materials cans and plastics mainly. This ups our production costs so limits what we can offer to suppliers of material.

He advocated local authorities doing their own work to measure levels of contamination. The date generated, he suggested, could then be used to set a set a baseline with continually improving plans.

Aluminium

On the aluminium front, Rick Hindley, executive director of aluminium packaging organisation Alupro, highlighted that since 2001 volumes of aluminium packaging recycled had doubled. But, he warned: We have taken the low hanging fruit and need more growth.

RickHindley of Alupro said that the Novelis Warrington plant is operating again

As with the UPM speaker, Mr Hindley also emphasised the need for a clean feedstock. Looking at used beverage cans, the amount of other stuff going into the furnace affects the price. The more rubbish there is, the more it affects the melt loss. With a 75% recovery level you can effectively expect to get 75% of the market price.

Mr Hindley also noted that prices had fallen a bit during the year because the Novelis plant at Warrington was closed for works. But, he assured the audiences that demand was returning as Warrington is now back in the market and this would strengthen prices, although he advised delegates to follow the London Metal Exchange to see daily price trends for new material which linked directly to the scrap price.

And, he revealed that Alupro will shortly be launching a new programme to encourage the collection of household foil and will be providing a range of template communication material for local authorities to use.

Plastics

The perspective on plastics came from Stuart Foster, chief executive of plastics recycling organisation Recoup. He told delegates that plastic recycling rates continued to increase with kerbside recycling really taking off but that the materials should be seen in their categories.

Stuart Foster of Recoup said sorted plastic bottles could attract a premium

What exactly do we mean by recycling? he asked, adding that the terms mixed plastics, recycling bin and recycling werent appropriate. Instead of mixed plastics, Mr Foster said that the terms bottles; PTT, pots trays and tubs; films; and transit packaging should all be used.

And he reasoned that recycling should also encompass other activities such as energy from waste and chemical recycling processes as well as the more accepted mechanical recycling route for plastics.

In terms of value, he said that commercial film and bottle collections had a high value with a premium payable for sorted bottles. In contrast the value of mixed pots, tubs and trays is very unclear and variable. You can get some positive value for polypropylene packaging such as ice cream tubs.

Mr Foster also suggested that the PRN the packaging waste recovery note could have a stronger role in the future as prices have risen. I like the idea of PRNs for different types of plastics for pots and tubs this could be focused on funding the sorting equipment which is required.