waste management in africa: an overview · 2019-10-20 · contents 6 september-october 2019 news...

T H E R E G I O N ’ S P R E M I E R M A G A Z I N E F O R E N V I R O N M E N T A L M A N A G E M E N T

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA: AN OVERVIEW

INDUSTRY LEADERDr. Hisham SherifCEO, ENTAG-ECARU Group

FOCUSIt’s all about single-use plastics!

VOL. 9 | ISSUE 5 | SEP-OCT 2019

CONTENTS

6 www.waste-recyclingme.ae SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019

NEWS

COVER STORY Waste Management In Africa: An Overview

FOCUSIt’s All About Single-Use Plastics!

INDUSTRY LEADERDr. Hisham SherifCEO, ENTAG-ECARU Group

FOOD WASTE UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment encourages use of AI to reduce food waste

PLASTIC PACKAGINGDow and UPM partner to produce plastics made with renewable feedstock

BATTERY RECYCLING Broad spectrum of participants clearly shows steadily growing interest in battery recycling: ICBR 2019

INNOVATIONPureCycle Technologies completes run of groundbreaking plastics recycling technology

RECOVERED PAPER REPORTBIR Recovered Paper World Mirror

SPECIAL REPORT – PLASTIC Sep-Oct Report

METAL BULLETINPremiums roll over on weak market sentiments

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– Almoayyed Motors - Manama / [email protected] – Al Kasid Commercial & Industrial Company - Erbil, Baghdad / [email protected]– Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC - Muscat / [email protected]– Almana Motors Company W.L.L. - Doha / [email protected] – Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Co. Ltd. - Dammam / [email protected] – Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Co. Ltd. - Jeddah / [email protected] – Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies Co. Ltd - Riyadh / [email protected] – Al Tayer Motors - Dubai / [email protected] – Premiere Motors - Abu Dhabi / [email protected]– Alghanim Auto - Kuwait City / [email protected]

Bahrain Iraq

OmanQatar

Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates

Kuwait

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www.waste-recyclingme.ae SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 9

This time for Africa!... Yes, Waste & Recycling Middle East has taken the bold step of entering a new market, spreading its wings into the world’s second largest

continent - to cover the news and latest developments in Africa! The very word brings to one’s mind a riot of colours, diversity, dynamism, fascinating wildlife, tropical rainforest, rich tradition and much much more. We’re really excited about our foray into what is termed as a fast emerging market, which has great potential for growth in all areas including waste management

and recycling. Reporting on the developments in Africa – a very complex market by its very nature, size and numerous countries that comprise the continent, as well as the varying political, social and economic conditions, diverse culture, diverse policies and strategies, will surely be a challenge for us. But we believe it’s also bound to be an interesting journey and a totally engaging and fulfilling experience to bring to our readers not only in the Middle East and Africa, but also globally, the latest advances, significant strategies, sustainable programmes as well as the opportunities this fast growing major economy presents to the waste recycling industry and other related sectors.

In this edition, we take a look at the state of the waste management and recycling industry in Africa. Leading industry experts from different regions of the continent have talked about the situation in the waste recycling industry, providing insights into the present scenario, key concerns and the strength of this sector, developments in recycling as well as the opportunities the region offers to those involved in the business.

That’s not all. This issue also provides an insight into the developments in the UAE retail sector and the measures that some of the popular supermarkets are taking to cut down on single-use plastics, plus other sustainable initiatives and innovations around the world.

The second cycle of the prestigious MEWAR Awards is right around the corner! The grand awards ceremony is set to be held 21 November 2019 at the Ritz-Carlton JBR, Dubai. This unique event recognises individuals and organisations that have been actively contributing to environmental sustainability in the region. As many of you know, the inaugural awards ceremony was a great success. So be prepared for yet another grand event that will honour the winners across 15 categories. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet and network with the top personalities in the region’s waste recycling industry.

We look forward to seeing you at MEWAR Awards 2019!

Swaliha [email protected]

EDITOR’S COMMENT General Management Publisher Media Fusion LLC, P.O. Box: 80260 Dubai, UAE Tel.: +9714 2970512 Website: www.mediafusionme.com

Managing DirectorTaher PatrawalaM: +971 55 1091443E: [email protected]

EditorialEditor-in-chiefSwaliha ShanavasE: [email protected]

Sales & MarketingHead of Sales & MarketingSunu.S.NairM: +971 55 8232157E: [email protected]

Assistant Sales ManagerMohammed Faraaz, Mobile: +971 55 1476474Email: [email protected]

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Suhail OTEmail: [email protected]

Database & CirculationDeepak NairE-mail: [email protected]

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Media Representative for USARecycling Today Media GroupMr. James R. Keefe, Publisher: [email protected] Canal Rd. Valley View Ohio 44125 USAPh: 001-216-393-0300

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Reproduction in whole or in part of nay matter appearing in Waste & Recycling Middle East magazine without the prior written permission of the publishers is prohibited by law. Opinions and views expressed in Waste & Recycling Middle East do not represent the views of the publishers and the editorial staff of the magazine. The publishers do not guarantee the accuracy of the information; neither will they indemnify any losses arising through the use of the information. All marketing information is subject to approval by clients.

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MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

NEWS


Tadweer opens state-of-the-art Control CentreAbu Dhabi Waste Management Centre (Tadweer) opened a new state-of-the-art Control Centre to establish a central point for controlling and monitoring the performance of private environmental service providers tasked with the collection and transportation of waste in the emirate, as well as to electronically track waste transport vehicles.

His Excellency Mubarak Obaid Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary at the Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities, His Excellency Dr Salem Al Kaabi, General Manager of Tadweer, as well as several senior officials from Tadweer and representatives of local media attended the launch event and toured the Control Centre.

As part of its mandate to monitor the collection and transportation of waste to enhance the overall efficiency of the environmental service providers in Abu Dhabi, the Control Centre tracks vehicles used in the collection and transportation of household waste, farm waste and bulky waste, as well as the washing and sterilising of waste bins and street sweeping equipment. Furthermore, based on these assessments, it issues reports on the contractors’ performance.

“The opening of the new Control Centre aligns with the directive of the Abu Dhabi government to leverage the latest technologies to provide high-quality services to the community. Technology integration is key to the development of the waste management sector in the emirate and to achieving its strategic plan. Through using a fail-safe system that combines control and monitoring functions, this important facility seeks to improve our operating mechanisms and enhance our preparedness to address any challenges facing this vital field,” said H.E. Mubarak Obaid Al Dhaheri.

“The Control Centre reflects Tadweer’s commitment to the continuous improvement of the waste management sector in Abu Dhabi. The facility provides the Contract Management Department at Tadweer with seamless access to the integrated waste management system, and facilitates monitoring, control and analysis of contractors’ performance. Through ensuring the compliance of environmental service providers with contractual terms and guidelines, the center aims to boost their efficiency and responsiveness while supporting the

efforts of Abu Dhabi to achieve its sustainable development goal,” said H.E. Dr Al Kaabi said.

Tadweer plays an important role in creating a sustainable environment and provides 51 services, including 27 services related to cleaning, collection and transportation of waste as well as sweeping of roads and residential, commercial and industrial areas in the emirate. The centre also oversees recycling facilities and issues environmental licenses to entities active in the waste management sector in Abu Dhabi.

NEWS


Oman’s Majis and Toshiba confirm OMR 3.27m project agreements

DHL Express introduces recycled eco-uniforms as part of ‘Go Green’ drive

Oman’s water solutions provider Majis Industrial Services signed two agreements with Toshiba Water Solutions, at a combined contract value of OMR 3.27 million, to boost the company’s wastewater treatment capacity and improve the efficiency of its Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant both in terms of costs and reliability. The signing ceremony took place in Muscat on 26 September.

The first contract, a Rapid Gravity Filter technology project, will handle 83,000m3/day of seawater as pre-treatment of feed water for Majis’ RO plant at Sohar Industrial Port. The contract for design, construction, testing and commissioning was awarded to Toshiba Water Solutions at a contract value of OMR 2.8 million and is expected to be commissioned before the end of 2020.

The second contract, for the design and procurement of containerised effluent treatment plants with a capacity of 1.2MLD – at a contract value of OMR 0.468 million – will see project completion in December 2019. The containerised plants will treat effluent received

from Majis’ industrial customers, to handle growing demand for wastewater treatment at Sohar Port & Freezone. The project will add treatment and Recycling capacity to Majis’ 20MLD plants, which treat sewage and industrial waste.

“The containerised effluent treatment plants are important for increasing our capacity to treat and recycle wastewater, while the Rapid Gravity Filter project will greatly improve the efficiency of our Reverse Osmosis facility,” said

Ahmed Al-Mazrouy, CEO of Majis Industrial Services. “Wastewater treatment is one of the key challenges facing the water services industry, and it is an especially pressing issue in water-scarce countries such as Oman, where effective recycling efforts take on a special importance. We believe that Sohar Port & Freezone customers will benefit greatly from our work with Majis, as demand for these services continues to grow,” said Koichi Matsui, CMD, Toshiba Water Solutions.

DHL Express has announced that it is turning environmentally damaging waste into sustainable polyester yarn to be used as staff eco-uniforms, as part of its ‘Go Green’ drive to reduce its logistics-related emissions in the region. The company said it is working with Nouveau to create high quality uniforms from plastic bottles that are identical to the current uniforms. The Waste2Weave process is to turn bottles into ready to wear clothing, for example, a pair of DHL trousers can be crafted from 23 plastic bottles, 19 bottles to make a shirt, and 9 bottles to make a DHL courier cap.

The initiative will start in the UAE and then will be rolled out across the region. More than 2500 couriers across the region will be wearing these uniforms and this step towards

sustainability will recycle around 510,000 water bottles per year, said the company.

“We believe that a small change in DHL’s corporate work wear can have a big impact on the environment and set a good example for employees worldwide,” said Geoff Walsh, General Manager, DHL Express UAE. “This is a meaningful initiative for us as we are doing our part to recycle plastic waste and are contributing to reducing

environmental pollution in the UAE and around the world,” Vice President Operations of DHL Express in UAE, Mike Barrett added.


NEWS

Dubai Festival City Mall aims to recycle 75% waste by 2022

In a bid to reduce the mall’s ecological footprint, Dubai Festival City Mall announced it is embarking on an ambitious journey in partnership with the French-based utility company, SUEZ Water Technologies to reduce its waste by 75% by 2022. This initiative falls in line with Dubai Festival City’s efforts and the Dubai Government’s plans to attain 75 percent of waste diversion from landfills by 2021. Dubai Festival City Mall currently recycles 11 percent of its waste and aims to boost its sustainability numbers year on year to reach its 2022 targets.

The waste recycling programme promotes a holistic and world-class programme that saves energy, reduces waste and generates revenue and it will be executed in three phases to ensure a smooth transition with no implication on customer experience and create maximum efficiencies across all retailers at the mall, as per the statement.

The mall management will be working closely with all retailers

to provide training to their employees about the importance of recycling to achieve Dubai’s 2021 vision so they can play a critical role in the programme’s success. The process will also take into consideration the specific requirements of each retailer and have ongoing evaluations to assess the efficiency of the processes implemented. The process will eventually be digitalised through a smart application to monitor the waste and recycling processes and provide visibility on the efforts of each participant.

“Having a positive impact on our environment is a priority and we are working towards creating an environmentally friendly ecosystem that engages both our partners and customers throughout this sustainability programme. We are delighted to have partnered with Suez, who are globally renowned for their water and waste management solutions, to bring our mall innovative solutions,” said Steven Cleaver, Director, Shopping Centres Dubai, Al-Futtaim Malls.

Dungannon based Kiverco provides customers with recycling solutions. It has just secured new business in UAE worth nearly £3 million. The company designs, engineers and builds recycling plants for the waste processing industry. The company has won new business in UAE with waste management company Dulsco.

“The recycling industry is changing dramatically driven largely by the requirement for better purity levels in output. We have been building recycling plants for over 25 years and our product design has had to constantly evolve with changes in the marketplace, said Paul Carolan, General Manager, Kiverco. “We know we have great products that can meet the demands of customers and are keen to grow the business into new markets. Invest NI’s support has been invaluable in helping us win this new business and establish important partnerships in other markets.”

Invest NI’s trade support has also helped Kiverco explore the Polish market, and the company has now appointed a new distributor in Poland to expand its existing partner network and grow business in Europe, according to the press release.

“Our teams both here and in the UAE have supported Kiverco to explore new markets and ultimately help secure this new business in UAE,” said Steve Harper, Executive Director of International Business, Invest Northern Ireland.

Recycling solution provider Kiverco secures new business in UAE


NEWS

ENEC signs MoU with Andra

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra) on the sidelines of the 63rd Annual Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, Austria. The MoU was signed by H.E. Eng. Mohamed Al Hammadi, Chief Executive Officer of ENEC, and Pierre-Marie Abadie, Chief Executive Officer of Andra, in the presence of H.E. Ambassador Hamad Al Kaabi UAE Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and H.E. Xavier Sticker, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and International Organisations in Vienna.

The MoU has been signed as part of ENEC’s proactive approach to developing a long-term strategy for waste management. Andra, a governmental organisation in charge of the radioactive waste management development programme in France is seen as a leading radioactive waste

management organisation with extensive knowledge of safety assessments, site investigations, design and operation of disposal facilities.

“This is an important memorandum and comes as part of our commitments set out at the very beginning of the development of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program. These commitments include the UAE’s policy for non-proliferation, transparency and the development of a comprehensive radioactive waste management system that reflects the highest standards of safety, quality and international

best practices,” said H.E. Eng. Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of ENEC. The construction of the Barakah plant is said to be progressing steadily and the overall construction completion percentage is more than 93 percent, as per the statement. The construction of Unit 1 has been completed and is currently undergoing commissioning and testing, prior to regulatory review and receipt of the Operating License from the FANR. All four units will deliver clean, efficient and reliable electricity to the UAE, preventing the release of up to 21 million tons of carbon emissions each year.

As part of their objective to reuse 100% of by-products coming from the Al Saja’a Bio Refinery, Qatra Water Solutions, a joint venture between the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and Besix Group, announced the signing of a reuse agreement with Sharjah Cement Factory to provide dry sludge and treated water. Dry sludge is a green residual semi-solid material and has calorific fuel value

that can be used as a substitute to charcoal for fuelling purposes to produce cement at the factory. Treated water will be utilised for landscaping and greenery of their plant.

The reuse agreement is mutually beneficial to both parties involved, as Sharjah Cement Factory is able to access a local and sustainable alternative to charcoal, while Qatra

continues to develop new initiative that achieve its zero waste target.

“The new partnership by Qatra, operating under Shurooq’s umbrella, and the Sharjah Cement Factory will play a major role in boosting sustainability in Sharjah’s construction industry,” said HE Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

ENEC and Andra to explore potential collaboration in the field of radioactive waste management

Qatra Water Solutions, Sharjah Cement Factory sign reuse agreement for dry sludge and treated water


NEWS

Maanshan Iron and Steel Company, a leading Chinese steel manufacturer, has formally established Masteel Middle East FZE (Masteel ME) in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza). Qian Haifan, General Manager of Maanshan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd (Masteel), and Ahmad Al Haddad, Chief Operating Officer, Parks and Zones, DP World, UAE Region, jointly inaugurated the facility.

Masteel ME is a subsidiary wholly owned by Masteel, mainly engaged in the export of all kinds of steel products of Masteel in the Middle East and North Africa. Recognising the dynamic characteristics of the Middle East market, and combining the advantages of its diverse high quality products, Masteel ME is expanding the export market mainly for hot rolled steel, section steel and cold rolled steel, and PPGI (pre-painted galvanised iron) and GI (galvanised iron) products, as well as the shafts market.

“On behalf of DP World, we congratulate our valued partner Masteel on its success. We look forward to this exciting chapter that will build stronger trade ties between our two countries for mutual prosperity for our people,” said Mohammed Al Muallem, CEO and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region and CEO of Jafza.

The Bureau of Middle East Recycling (BMR) launched its first workshop as a part of an ongoing education-al series that aim to provide BMR members with deep market un-derstanding and industry insights. The event held on 28 September was attended by over 100 BMR members, as per the press release. The workshop commenced with the Treasurer and Board Member Anshul Gupta briefing the attendees on VAT engagement with PWC.

This was followed by a presenta-tion by the legal Consultant Vivek Agarwalla from Alhamadi Law firm. It was an informative session on contracts and other legal issues that affect daily operations in the metal industries. In the second session legal consultant Mohamad Marria from Just Wills gave a presentation on succession planning. The event concluded with a Q&A session. The organisation said the purpose of organising such workshops was to: Raise awareness and facilitate dis-cussions on the challenges faced by the suppliers and traders across dif-ferent countries that they operate; Discuss solutions and early actions which the members can implement to ease their business operations; Provide third party expertise such as lawyers, tax consultants and technology providers to equip their members the knowledge required to improve their operations and business. The next workshop in this series will be hosted in January 2020 with exciting topics, said BMR.

Masteel Middle East FZE inaugurated in JAFZA BMR workshop

Some 2,350 exhibitors from 55 countries will take part in the 21st WETEX under the theme ‘At the Forefront of Sustainability’ and the Dubai Solar Show. The announcement was made by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Founder and Chairman of the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX). The event will be held from 21 to 23 October 2019 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Al Tayer made the announcement during a press conference and members of the organising committee, a number of strategic partners, sponsors, exhibitors, and the media were present.

“Organising WETEX and the Dubai Solar Show, under the umbrella of Green Week, are aligned with UAE’s wise leadership‘s vision to promote

sustainable development and a green economy in the UAE, and help realise the UAE Centennial 2071, the UAE Vision 2021, the UAE Green Growth Strategy, the Dubai Plan 2021, and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to make the Emirate a global hub for clean energy and green economy and provide 75% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources by 2050,” said Al Tayer in his speech.

“Over 20 years, WETEX has established itself as one of the largest and most important international specialised exhibitions, and the largest of its kind in the region. It has become an ideal platform for companies, organisations, experts, manufacturers and investors to learn about the latest developments and global technologies related to water, the environment, oil and gas, conventional and renewable energy and related industries,” he added.

Over 2300 exhibitors participate in WETEX and Dubai Solar Show


NEWS

Al Hamra Golf Club in Ras Al Khaimah has announced that it has become the first golf club in the entire Middle East region to go fully plastic-free. The golf course development owned by Al Hamra, Ras Al Khaimah’s premier developer, has eliminated all single-use plastic items from its premises, underlining its commitment to environmental sustainability. The Golf Club has partnered with UAE-based ‘No More Bottles’ and eliminated all plastic bottles in addition to introducing high-quality water filtration solutions across the premises.

Featuring a par-72, 18-hole championship golf course, the Golf Club has replaced all plastic water bottles with

branded glass alternatives for members and guests to use. These glass bottles will be cleaned, sterilised and refilled with the help of advanced environmentally-friendly filtration units. As part of greener and more sustainable introductions, the golf club has also eliminated the use of plastic across its operations including single-use plastic straws, stirrers and take away containers.

This follows the recent announcement by Al Hamra Golf Club’s governing body, The R&A, which organises The Open, golf’s oldest and most international major championship, that it will remove single-use plastic bottles at the 2019 Championship.

Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre (Tadweer) announced that it collected 1.208 million tons of waste in H1 2019 through the companies contracted to provide waste collection and transportation services across the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Municipal solid waste amounted to 567,721 tons, whereas bulky waste stood at 65,220 tons, green waste from residential areas and farms at 272,234 tons, and animal waste from farms at 228,245 tons. The entity also collected 49,408 tons of demolition and construction waste, 7,794 tons of animal carcasses, 16,250 tons of slaughterhouse waste and 1,474 tons of used tires. “In line with its strategic objective of adopting the most stringent international standards in integrated waste management, Tadweer has stepped up efforts to ensure the effectiveness of waste management services and facilities over the first six months of 2019. This will contribute significantly to achieving the objectives of Abu Dhabi Plan 2030 that aims to create a sustainable environment and preserve the cleanliness and aesthetic appeal of Abu Dhabi,” said H.E. Dr Salim Al Kaabi, Director General of Tadweer.

“Tadweer’s integrated waste management system incorporates the latest global methods, including waste segregation at source, optimal utilisation of recyclable waste, and efficient management and safe disposal of

non-recyclable waste. In collaboration with best-in-class environmental service providers and other specialised companies, we have implemented several innovative projects to collect, transport and treat all types of waste. Our approach focuses on diverting waste away from landfills, minimising its adverse impact on the environment and providing healthy living conditions for the residents of the emirate,” he added.

Al Hamra Golf Club goes plastic-free

Tadweer collects 1.2m tons of waste in H1 2019

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NEWS

Pick n Pay (PnP) will soon roll out its new budget green ‘People n Planet’ reusable bag at the national level after a successful trial with customers earlier this year. The bag is expected to be in all stores by mid-October, as per a report in Capetownetc.com.

The grocery store partnered with Coca-Cola and Unilever, two companies that are also implementing waste reduction initiatives, to sell the first one million green ‘People n Planet’ reusable bags for only R4 per bag. This will make it one of the lowest-priced reusable bags made from recycled plastic to date in South Africa. The bag’s low price is all the more remarkable given that should it ever break, Pick n Pay will replace it for free, as per the media reports.

The green People n Planet reusable bag was initially sold for R5 per bag and trialled in 22 stores in February 2019 to gauge customer willingness to purchase an affordable reusable bag as an

alternative to a plastic carrier bag. More than 11500 bags were sold during the one-month trial, which resulted in a reduction in plastic bag sales across the pilot stores when compared to the same period last year. This demonstrates that customers are willing to make responsible choices if the right options are available to them at the right price, Suzanne Ackerman-

Berman, transformation director at Pick n Pay was quoted as saying. Made from green recycled PET bottles, the reusable bag promotes the circular economy by turning post-consumer primary packaging (plastic bottles) into secondary packaging (reusable bags).Residents can look forward to purchasing their very own People n Planet bags soon.

Egyptian Ministry of Housing’s New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Belgian group Besix and Egyptian company Orascom Construction to build a waste-to-fuel plant in west Cairo, as per a report in Mubasher. According to the public private partnership (PPP) agreement, the fuel produced by the facility will be used to power cement production plants.

The waste will come from the new cities under construction in Upper Egypt. The city is expected to accommodate 6.5 million inhabitants in the near future and all these people could produce a lot of waste, as per Afrik21 news.

According to the agreement, the NUCA will contribute 10 percent of the project costs by providing land for the development of the facilities. NUCA will also provide the plant with the required feedstock which amounts to 2,000 tonnes of solid waste per day during the 15-year concession period starting from the date of commercial operation. It is the second PPP agreement signed by NUCA for the construction of a waste recovery plant in Egypt’s new cities. Earlier in July, Saudi company FAS Energy signed an agreement with NUCA to develop a waste-to-energy project to serve new cities in east Cairo. As a first step, the company plans to build a plant that will incinerate waste

by supplying 20 MW of electricity and investing $60 million, as per Afrik21. The NUCA has already agreed to allocate land to Fas Energy for the development of its facilities.

PnP rolls out sustainable recycled bags

Egypt signs MoU with Besix, Orascom for waste-to-fuel plant

Illustrative purpose only


NEWS

The Europe lead market will grow on account of moderate growth in automotive sector along with ongoing expansion of data centers. The Ericsson, Telia Sonera, Deutsche Telekom along with the government authorities are making significant investment toward improving the internet connectivity across the Nordic region and Western Europe. Growing focus toward improving lead recycling along with increasing secondary production primarily across Western Europe will augment the industry landscape, according to Global Market Insights report. In the EU, the production, use and reuse of batteries are in alignment with the EU Circular Economy facilitated by a well-functioning and established closed loop recycling system. The automotive batteries operate in a closed loop system with 99 percent being collected and recycled at the end of their useful life. as per the report.

The Middle East & Africa lead market will grow over 5 percent by 2025 and rising investment toward metal & mining industries along with increasing focus to attract the private investment will drive the industry outlook, the report reveals. In addition, limited access to electricity across African countries have instigated the demand for backup power systems complementing the demand for lead acid batteries. For instance, in 2019, as per the world bank, over 573 million people in sub-

Saharan Africa are still deprived of electricity.

Global Lead Market revenue is poised to cross USD 27 billion by 2025, as reported in the latest study by Global Market Insights, Inc. Rising consumption of batteries across automobiles coupled with increasing adoption of backup power systems across communication centers will foster the lead market growth. Ongoing expansion of microgrid networks along with growing measures toward improving the grid efficiency will further augment the business landscape. Furthermore, frequent power blackouts across regions with limited electricity access coupled with peak load demand compensation will further encourage the product adoption.

Rapid development across the electric vehicle industry along with robust investment toward mining activities will stimulate the business growth. However, stringent government norms toward reduction of lead emissions and consumption across several applications owing to rising cases of lead poisoning may restrict the industry growth, the report indicates. Lead market from batteries was valued over 19 billion in 2018. Growing consumption primarily across the automotive market along with extensive use across the telecom industry and data centres will also augment the industry landscape.

Namibia is developing a solid waste management policy to reduce pollution in national parks and public places, a move the government expects to make the country the cleanest in Africa by 2028.

Namibia’s minister of environment and tourism Pohamba Shifeta revealed this in the national sold waste management strategy plan released August 19, as per a report in Xinhua.

He said the strategy will impact heavily on the social and economic set-up of the country through job creation for the youth. “It is my belief that implementation of this strategy will also deliver considerable socio-economic benefits in terms of employment creation. Cabinet has approved this strategy and endorsed the need for a cross sectoral solid waste management advisory panel to guide its implementation,” he was quoted as saying.

Shifeta added that the government will drive the strategy through working with stakeholders in the private sector. As part of the proposed strategy, the Namibian government looks to have most of the disposed waste recycled, be it industrial waste or municipal solid waste.

More than 300 people will be per-manently employed by the eThek-wini municipality in South Africa to collect waste in the uMlazi area. This is according to the newly appointed chairperson of Human Settlements in the municipality, Thanduxolo Sab-ela, stated a report in iOL. The posts

will be advertised in a few weeks’ time and are intended for people who will be working in the uMlazi area only, Sabela was quoted as saying during the launch of the Clean and Maintain my Township pro-gramme in uMlazi on 16 September. During the event, the municipality’s

officials together with members of parliament collected waste in the area and also listened to the commu-nity’s concerns. In June, eThekwini councillors unanimously agreed to do away with the outsourcing of waste collection contracts in Umlazi, as per the report.

World Lead market value to hit $27 billion by 2025: Global Market Insights

Namibia to develop waste management strategy

eThekwini to permanently employ people for waste collection in uMlazi

The Middle East & Africa lead market will grow over 5 percent by 2025, says report

Illustrative purpose only


NEWS

The Ethiopian government recently disclosed ongoing efforts to introduce the country’s first sludge management guideline so as to streamline activities on hazardous waste disposal across all sectors.

Ethiopia’s first sludge management guideline has reached its final stage, as the guideline mainly envisaged to effectively implement the existing policies and laws concerning hazardous waste disposal across all sectors, according to the Ethiopian Forest and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC).

The new national guideline, once operational, is expected to provide manufacturers in the East African country “with a harmonized approach to managing sludge after wastewater treatment within the textile and apparel supply chain,” as per a report in xinhuanet.com. The guideline, among other things, provides a clear list of priorities on how to classify manage, transport, handle, utilize, use or disposal of sewage sludge, it was noted.

Rigaku Analytical Devices, Inc. a leader in handheld and portable spectroscopic analysers, announced a new partnership with Metal Analysis Group, a premier analytical consulting firm with expertise in elemental analysis for metal production, fabrication, positive material identification (PMI), metal recycling, and testing markets. Rigaku and Metal Analysis Group will provide advanced analytical solutions for metal analysis throughout North America as part of the partnership.

Based in Houston, TX, the consulting firm, with its team of scientists and engineers spread throughout North America, will

support the Rigaku KT Series laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) product sales and support in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The partnership couples Rigaku’s state of the art handheld technologies, with Metal Analysis Group’s value added programmes: Affordable lease and rent-to-own plans; Industry-leading product and application support; Convenient regional support. “Metal Analysis Group will be a great resource for our customers and a welcome addition to the Rigaku Analytical Devices organisation,” said David Mercuro, Sales Director at Rigaku Analytical Devices.

Ethiopia to introduce sludge management guideline to streamline hazardous waste disposal activities

Rigaku Analytical Devices announces partnership with Metal Analysis Group

Leading fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies including PepsiCo India, Coca-Cola India and Bisleri joined hands to announce the launch of a first-of-its-kind packaging waste management venture in India, as per media reports. The entity, called Karo Sambhav, will focus on creating a formal eco-system for collection of post-consumer packaging and optimising material recycling processes.

Karo Sambhav has been developed

by industry body Packaging Association for Clean Environment (PACE) over the past year and is a producer-led and owned entity which aims to ensure that no recyclable packaging material ends up in landfills by 2025. The other companies that have committed to joining hands for this venture include Parle Agro, Manjushree, Diageo, Reliance Industries, SC Johnson, IVL-Dhunseri, Pearl Drinks, Varun Beverages Ltd and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, PACE was quoted as saying.

The organisation added that jointly the participating companies will mobilise and converge assets, resources, and investment upwards of Rs. 1,000 crore, which also includes fresh investments by the members of this new venture into plastic waste management. The venture plans to begin with setting up collection systems while simultaneously setting up a network of 125 material recovery systems across the country which will work with 2,500 aggregators over the next three years.

FMCG companies partner to launch packaging waste management venture


NEWS

Swiss solution provider Kistler’s measurement technology experts will welcome visitors to their stand at K 2019 where they can learn how artificial intelligence (AI) will smooth the path to the smart factories of the future. The company announced it will showcase intelligent, professional solutions and products for the entire measuring chain, from sensors through to software.

The process monitoring system ComoNeoPREDICT from Kistler adds AI to the injection molding process. The quality model generated by intelligent software is based on neural networks. This is the starting-point for extremely accurate and efficient plastics processing that must meet the very high standards required in the automotive and medtech sectors. Maximum quality can be achieved with this method of calculating the properties of manufactured parts in advance.

The new, ultra-compact 9239A sensor from the company allows contact-free measurement of cavity

pressure during the injection moulding process, developed to meet the highest surface quality standards.

The focus is also on end-to-end networking to ensure high levels of data availability, says the company. Quality-related process data is made available via OPC UA on a platform-independent basis so that,

for instance, long-duration analyses can be undertaken and the causes of faults can be identified.

A virtual production network will visualise live data from partner companies that operate ComoNeo and are using it for their exhibits at the K 2019 fair. Kistler’s experts will also show visitors how the system works in practice.

Consumer goods company Unilever in collaboration with DOB Equity and Global Innovation Fund (GIF) has made an investment in Kenya-based plastics recycling business Mr. Green Africa, a Nairobi based recycler and recycled plastics supplier. The funds will allow the company to expand and “build on the aggregation model which enables it to scale the trade of recyclables while building a strong and reliable supplier network” according to a report in Food Business Africa. The investment will also enable Mr. Green Africa to increase processing capacity and produce higher value recycled products in larger volumes to supply consumer goods companies, the report stated.

Justin Apsey, Unilever East Africa CEO was quoted as saying, “Our strategic partnership with Mr. Green Africa has opened new frontiers in confronting the plastic challenge in a more collaborative and sustainable way. We shall continue to leverage on our purpose to drive even greater environmental and social impact in our quest to lead in creating a brighter future for all East Africans.”

Mr. Green Africa recycles and sells carefully sourced materials with a traceable social and environmental impact and currently engages over 2,000 previously marginalised waste collectors also selling over 2,000 metric tons fairly sourced recycled materials for local and

international markets. The company said the investment will enable the expansion of its plastic recycling operations in Kenya, where only 10 percent of plastic scrap is currently being recycled.

They were very pleased and looking forward to working with DOB Equity and Global Innovation Fund on the expansion of Mr. Green Africa, Keiran Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Mr. Green Africa was quoted as saying. “We believe we are in the right place, at the right time, to create a blueprint for emerging markets to provide a circular solution to the plastic challenge and need partners like DOB Equity and Global Innovation Fund that see this opportunity.”

Unilever invests in Kenya based Mr. Green Africa

Kistler adds AI to plastics processing


WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA: AN OVERVIEW

Waste & Recycling Middle East has just expanded its reach to cover the fast emerging market of Africa. Leading industry experts from various regions

of the world’s second largest continent talked with Waste & Recycling Middle East & Africa about the state of the waste and recycling industry, key concerns and the strength of this sector, developments in recycling as well

as the opportunities this industry presents to various entities involved in the business. Swaliha Shanavas writes.

COVER STORY


It is common knowledge that the amount of waste being generated worldwide has been increasing at a

tremendous pace, with the two major contributing factors being population growth and urbanisation. The amount of municipal solid waste generated in Africa in 2012 was 125 million tonnes, and according to United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) ‘Africa Waste Management Outlook’ report (October 2018) this figure is expected to increase with the quantity of waste projected to touch 250 million tonnes by 2025.

There are several different scenarios in waste management across Africa, but in general the collection and treatment rates remain low. Further, many parts are affected due to unscientific waste management practices. The UNEP report indicates that 90 percent of the waste generated is disposed of in an uncontrolled manner, with a recycling rate of only 4 percent.

“Waste management in Africa varies significantly from country to country. Broadly speaking there are very few engineered landfills for domestic waste outside of South Africa, although there are plans for future development of the same,” says Dean Thompson, CEO, EnviroServ Waste Management. There are a limited number of facilities that can process hazardous waste, however, there are numerous incinerators particularly in East Africa, he adds.

Again, recycling is largely carried out by informal waste pickers in Africa, with recycling companies purchasing the recyclables from these individuals, Thompson notes. “At present, waste

separation at source is non-existent and waste is separated at the disposal site. There have been projects to formalise waste sorting and recycling with very few ongoing successes.”

South Africa in particular has a highly regulated waste industry, governed by legislation that promotes the use of the waste hierarchy. “As South Africa’s leading waste management company, EnviroServ makes use of the waste hierarchy when developing solutions for our customers to ensure we offer compliant and best practice solutions in managing their waste streams,” the CEO underscores. This goes beyond the traditional recycling of paper, plastic, etc, with focus on providing creative solutions for hazardous waste and various other waste streams.

According to the International Council of Forest and Paper Association’s (ICFPA) 2019 Sustainability Progress Report, South Africa is ahead of international averages. “Our country’s paper recovery rate is well above the global average of 59.3 percent and currently sits at 70 percent, according to RecyclePaperZA. Over the past 10 years, more than 11.3 million tonnes of paper and paper packaging have been recovered for recycling locally. If baled, this amount would cover the surface of 2055 soccer fields, one metre deep,” says John Hunt, Managing Director of Mpact Recycling.

In 2018, the company collected over 630,000 tonnes of recyclables including paper, plastic, glass and cans. “Considering that every tonne of recovered paper saves 3m3 of landfill space, diverting 630,000 tonnes of

Dean ThompsonCEO, EnviroServ Waste Management


COVER STORY

recyclables from landfills is a huge step in the right direction,” he notes.

Algeria is the largest country in Africa covering 2,381,741 square kilometers. According to the latest data from the Algerian National Statistics’ Office, the population of this North African country is more than 43 million, 65 percent of which lives in the northern strip that represents 4 percent of the country’s area. “The total amount of waste generated on an average per annum is 23 million tons, of which, 13 million is household waste,” says Karim Ouamane, General Manager, National Waste Agency, Ministry of Environment & Renewable Energies, Algeria. “The cornerstone of the national policy relies on a strategy that aims to phase out wild dumping, set up sanitary landfills, promote sorting and recycling activities and enhance awareness and communication.”

In order to implement this strategy, the Government adopted, in 2002, two operational programmes, National Household Waste Management Programme and National Hazardous Waste Management Plan. At present, Algeria counts 180 sanitary landfilling plants. These infrastructure facilities deal with almost 60 percent of household waste generated annually, says Ouamane.

Legislation The situation varies extensively

across Africa on the legislation front. Different studies and reports indicate the lack of effective legislation, funding and services for proper solid waste management in many parts of the continent. In South Africa, overall industry plans have been submitted by industry bodies (i.e. members of PAMSA and PETCO). In September 2018, each packaging waste stream had to submit an Industry Waste Management Plan (IndWMP) to the Minister of Environmental Affairs, says John Hunt. “This plan indicated how the paper and packaging industry will deal with its extended producer responsibility, decrease packaging in the environment, create employment and bring about transformation, amongst other aspects. It is currently being evaluated by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).”

Johann Conradie, Chairman, South African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO), says legislation places more emphasis on waste avoidance, minimisation, reuse and recycling, and the Government has published various reports on the “waste economy and the value of waste”. Relevant legislation includes the Waste Act and related local and municipal bylaws; various South African Bureau of Standards (SABS); ISO standards (like ISO 18604:2013) and so on.

There is a pressing need for institutional, legislative or legal restructuring to make available effective tools for proper waste management in Africa, says Dr. Hisham Sherif, CEO, ENTAG-ECARU Group. In his opinion, other key concerns related to MSW on the continent are the creation of enough capacity not only limited to monetary terms but also technological and infrastructural advancement; and lack of financing and technical support for assisting the waste management sector (exclusive interview on page 32).

In 2001, the Algerian Government set

up a new legal framework that aimed to implement the National Waste Strategy and its related programme and plan. The first framework law on the management, control and disposal of waste has been adopted by the parliament and adopted by its 33 implementing operational decrees, says Karim Ouamane. “To enable the Government to effectively implement integrated waste management programmes, it established the first unique institutional arrangement through the National Waste Agency (NWA), a public institution under the authority of the Ministry of Environment. It was created to provide support to local authorities in order to enhance their waste management, and to monitor and assess integrated waste management at the national level,” he explains.

Recognising the importance of waste management indicators as a primary tool to enhance integrated waste management at all levels, NWA set up the National Waste Information System. “This data centre interconnects all the waste actors and allows them to have access and use

John HuntManaging Director, Mpact Recycling

Karim OuamaneGeneral Manager, National Waste Agency

Ministry of Environment & Renewable Energies, Algeria

“There are several different scenarios in waste management across Africa, but in general the collection and treatment rates remain low.”


COVER STORY

of waste data instantly,” he says. They are currently initiating, conducting and contributing to research studies, and demonstration projects and programmes; and in charge of publishing and disseminating scientific information, including awareness and communication activities on behalf of the Environment Ministry.

Recently, Algeria initiated a new waste strategy which is methodologically based on circular economy approach, with the Environment Ministry mandating NWA to lead on that issue at national and local levels, Ouamane notes. Pursuant to Algerian regulation, each municipality has to establish and run its own local waste management plan that must be updated every ten years. NWA is mandated to support municipalities for this purpose. “Hence, circular economy is the cornerstone of the new national waste management strategy. The ministry expects the enhancement and amendment of the existing national waste regulation in accordance with this concept,” he emphasises.

Key concerns There are numerous challenges that

the experts identify in the industry. One of the main concerns most professionals highlight in the Africa market is regarding the funding and revenue model for ongoing projects. “Most African cities lack the revenues to fund waste management and at present revenue earned from recycling and other activities around waste do not make a meaningful contribution to the costs of waste management process. The average income of the citizens of many African cities is below the threshold to afford waste management,” says Dean Thompson.

The challenge is to ensure the solution is financially viable and legally compliant, which “unfortunately does lead to the least preferred option of disposal to landfill,” he adds. “South African landfill costs are comparatively cheap compared to other countries in the world and this makes certain alternative disposal costs unviable and delays the development of more alternative options for waste.” EnviroServ owns and operates “world

class disposal facilities that are stringently monitored and audited” and the company is able to offer solutions for all streams across the spectrum of waste management, he comments. The private sector in South Africa, is “extremely proactive with managing waste correctly” and taking additional initiatives to ensure they are recycling as much of the waste as possible, the CEO adds.

One other issue he points out in South Africa is the households, where there is very little compliance on waste segregation at source. “Admittedly, there is inadequate infrastructure for this, but fortunately the majority of municipalities around the country are currently addressing this through various projects and initiatives.”

The increasing rate of waste generation and the lack of space to implement landfilling plans are the main problems facing Algerian waste plans and programmes, states Karim Ouamane. “This is why, we set up objectives till 2035 based on waste sorting, composting and waste-to-energy processing. For the first time, the private sector will be a key actor in this new era.”

Some of the pertinent issues that need to be addressed are non-treatment of waste; existence of dumpsites and their impact on environment; lack of infrastructure for waste treatment; lack of funding for setting up, operating and maintaining facilities; the need for structured

projects for bankable and sustainable programmes; and the lack of regulatory framework in some countries, Paul Bourdillon, CEO Africa-Near East at Suez points out.

The cost of sustainable treatment systems is not insignificant, but the benefits are substantial. “Most African countries need additional non-governmental funding. Today, it is not enough to fund only construction of treatment facilities, it is important to guarantee the financing for operation and maintenance period, including alternative funding (Green grants),” he argues.

In his view, the investments should include the conception and building of infrastructures but also the operation and maintenance cost for at least 20 years, “in order to avoid correct landfills from becoming dumpsites in case of lack of means to operate them in a proper way (treating and recovering biogas and leachates for example).”

Case in point: Suez was awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of an ancient city dump in Meknes, Morocco and the construction and operation over a period of 20 years of a waste disposal and recovery centre that opened in September 2016. The facility includes a recycling centre with logistics platform and sorting shed, an organic waste recovery facility to produce compost from green waste and some types of organic waste, and a biogas collection and recovery facility, Bourdillon says.

Johann ConradieChairman, South African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO)

Dr. Hisham SherifCEO, ENTAG-ECARU Group

COVER STORY


The centre has also contributed to social transition as “the facility has helped the “informal” sorters, who previously worked at the heart of the unauthorised dump site where they put their health at risk. Now the 150 sorters have formed a cooperative to work as a team in entirely safe conditions,” he underlines also suggesting that the adoption of technology that has been tried and tested, such as biogas collection and purification using micro-turbines or efficient leachate treatment, will help emerging markets replace their landfill methods with waste recovery solutions.

From the recycling standpoint, key issues include infrastructure, contaminants in waste stream, nonrecyclables, sustainability of operations, low participation rates among others. Johann Conradie comments: “In South Africa, we have a weak waste management infrastructure and formal waste management for 65.9 percent of all households. Increasing amounts of biodegradable, compostable and some form of oxo-biodegradables enter the incoming recyclable waste stream.”

There is still a percentage of nonrecyclable plastics in product ranges and with rising energy, transport and labour costs, it is an ongoing struggle for recyclers to stay sustainable in their businesses, he underscores. “What’s more, the cost of incoming materials to the processor

increases continuously. Many new entrants are not legally compliant which put an unnecessary financial burden on compliant recyclers.” And, there is a lack of will, incentive or education for citizens to recycle, he says.

One of the biggest hurdles is that post-consumer collections are driven by the private sector and informal collectors and “there is a role for municipalities to get involved,” John Hunt opines. “As a country, we are doing well not only on the paper front, but we’re doing exceptionally well on the plastic recycling front too.” Recycling rates for PET bottles have improved over the years, with South Africa currently recycling around 67 percent of PET bottles produced, up

from 55 percent in 2016, he remarks. However, there is always room

for improvement. “As the leading recycler in South Africa, Mpact gives effect to a true circular economy” and through state-of-the-art investments in recycling and packaging technologies, the company converts post-consumer PET beverage bottles, liquid cartons and paper packaging into new products. They have invested R150 million in recycling collection infrastructure since 2014, John Hunt says, but “more infrastructure investments of this scale are required to ensure that the recycling economy remains strong and keeps growing.”

Trends and opportunities Household waste constitutes 54

percent organic material, 17 percent plastics and 10 percent cardboard, etc. Furthermore, Algerian Government is facilitating the introduction of new technologies for waste management, says Karim Ouamane. “Both are important investment opportunities in particular for the private sector to do business in the field of waste management.”

Irrespective of the issues highlighted, the industry currently offers opportunities across South Africa, says John Hunt. Recycling is a localised activity and “when driving through our country, one can almost immediately see which areas or towns run successful recycling initiatives, as those areas tend to be very clean and litter free, a result of the environmental benefits of the recycling economy,” he observes.

International companies are implementing worldwide their standards in terms of environmental footprint, including waste treatment, Paul Bourdillon notes, adding that this trend is an opportunity for solutions providers across Africa to improve their economic and environmental performance.

With the steady economic growth in some African countries, the average income of citizens is on the rise, says Dean Thompson. “Over the next 10-15 years there will be many cities that will be in a position to afford proper domestic waste management services.”

Paul BourdillonCEO, Africa-Near East, Suez

Meknes, Morocco

ARTICLE

FOR ENQUIRIES CONTACT:

MEWAR AWARDS – RESERVE YOUR TABLE/SEAT NOW!Nominations for the second cycle of the Middle East Waste & Recycling (MEWAR)

Awards are now closed.

The prestigious MEWAR Awards function will be held on November 21, 2019 at the Ritz-Carlton JBR, Dubai.

Be part of an exclusive event for the environmental sector, and meet and network with industry stalwarts from the waste recycling industry and other sectors

including hospitality and healthcare.

Izzah KhanE-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +971 4 297 0512

Mohammed FaraazE-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +971 55 147 6474


UPDATE: TYRE RECYCLING

It is estimated that Oman generates around 45,000 tons of ‘end-of-life’ (ELT) tyres every year – a figure

that is projected to rise in line with population growth and urbanisation.

The ProjectThe aim of the project is to process

the large legacy pile of waste car and jeep tyres by reducing the waste material to a manageable piece size of minus 150mm at a rate of 400 tyres per hour, according to Edge Innovate.

The SolutionThe EDGE Slayer XL is a twin

shaft, slow speed, high torque waste shredder that can be deployed as either a primary or secondary shredder due to its highly robust design, high throughput and superior resistance to difficult to shred material. The twin shaft design “provides exceptional intake behaviour, reduces traditional wrapping of material such as wires, plastics and long fibres and lends itself to less wear and longer life expectancy”. This combined with impressive design features such as tramp metal cycles and intelligent load sensing insures against asset damage and makes the EDGE Slayer the ideal solution for the processing of end of life tyres, says the company.

The ProcessCommissioned in February 2019,

the fleet of EDGE’s Slayer XL slow speed shredders has been “quickly and efficiently processing the end of life tyres to produce a reduced piece size

of 0-150mm at an impressive rate of 500 tyres per hour.”

Speaking of the installation a spokesperson for Khimji Ramdas said: “EDGE Innovate is an innovative equipment manufacturer from

EDGE INNOVATE PROVIDES TYRE SHREDDING SOLUTION

EDGE Innovate has recently installed and commissioned a fleet of shredders for the processing of several million end of life tyres in Oman.


UPDATE: TYRE RECYCLING

Northern Ireland. During the project they faced the challenge of providing a solution that offered our client the capacity and performance of shredding a minimum of 400 tyres per hour. Indeed, upon installation of the shredder units, they exceeded the output requirement by an extra 100 tyres. Our client is happy with how the machines operate and the overall build quality of the machines supplied.”

Up to 90% of the ferrous metal found in the tyres processed is also recovered thanks to the adjustable overband magnet found on the Slayer XL. At the current processing rate, one EDGE Slayer XL has the potential to shred up to 960,000 tyres annually, as per the company. The final shredded product is taken from the dump site and is transported to nearby cement kilns where it is used as a fuel source.

CustomisationThe project and operator

requirements, its location, working conditions, availability of reliable electricity and its demanding application resulted in EDGE offering a highly customised design specification. The fleet of Slayers supplied to the

project are fitted with a hooklift type chassis and are driven via an electric/hydraulic power-source. This enables the units to be operated for sustained periods in a demanding application within an extremely hot climate without the fear of over-heating says EDGE. “The need for the shredders to be utilised across multiple sites and availability of hooklift trucks, resulted in the client opting for a hooklift chassis configuration complete with a hydraulic folding discharge conveyor. This format lends itself to simple, quick and cost-effective transportation method.”

Edge Shredder Versatility

Tyre shredding is only one of many applications that EDGE’s versatile Slayer range can handle. “With a huge range of both rapid volume reduction and intricate piece sizing chambers available, our shredders can be employed as either a primary or secondary shredder and can be seen working anywhere from the waste management company to biofuel producers,” says the company.

With the recycling industry ever changing and adapting to new regulations and stringent requirements

placed on MRFs, adaptability is key. Whether it is processing C&D waste, organic waste or domestic household waste; the EDGE Slayer Series offers that all-round capability. The EDGE Slayer can be customised to provide the right tonnage at the desired piece size.

About Edge InnovateEDGE Innovate develops,

manufacturers and markets sophisticated technologies for shredding, stacking, screening and sorting of primary and secondary raw materials in production processes and recycling. According to EDGE, their material handling and recycling range is made up of reliable, durable and cost saving products with a wide range of mobile stockpilers, tracked stackers, tracked and mobile feeders, trommels, slow-speed waste shredders, picking stations, material classifiers, roll-sizers and truck off-loaders – all of which allow their customers to shred, screen, separate, stockpile and size a vast array of materials.

For further information: Email - [email protected]: +44 (0)2887 740525Web: www.edgeinnovate.com

FOCUS


The debate over the elimination of single-use plastics is getting stronger across the world. Over

the past two years we have seen various sectors taking initiatives to cut down on the use of single-use plastics. Several entities including corporate giants, manufacturers, packaging companies and so on have taken positive steps or announced their intention to reduce the use of single-use plastics.

The same is the case in the UAE and 2019 is a year that has seen widespread bans on single-use plastic items. For instance, Dubai Airports recently announced it will ban single-use plastics from consumer spaces with effect from January 1, 2020. Similarly, various airlines in the emirates have put forth initiatives to reduce single use plastics.

Supermarkets are also beginning to address the challenge of single-use plastics and various measures are being taken by some major supermarkets to tackle this issue. They are addressing other environmental issues as well, putting in place sustainable measures to improve the overall shopping experience.

Current trends Recent retail customer trends indicate

growing awareness with regard to sustainability and environmental issues, particularly problems related to plastics. Touching upon the trends regarding single-use plastics in the region’s retail sector, particularly in supermarkets, Philippe Peguilhan, Country Manager of Carrefour UAE at Majid Al Futtaim Retail says customers are growing increasingly environmentally conscious

IT’S ALL ABOUT SINGLE-USE PLASTICS!

How UAE supermarkets are tackling plastic pollution

Supermarkets have been facing a challenge of over-packaged food or single-use plastic bags and so on. Environmentally conscious shoppers have also been expressing their discontent in recent times and now many supermarkets have

started responding by looking for sustainable alternatives. Swaliha Shanavas takes a look at the measures that some of the popular supermarkets in the UAE are taking to cut down on single-use plastics, plus other responsible initiatives

that help contribute to a more sustainable shopping experience.

Philippe PeguilhanCountry Manager of Carrefour UAE

Majid Al Futtaim Retail

FOCUS


and some are actively looking at ways to shop in a more sustainable manner.

“A recent study we conducted found that 72% of Carrefour customers in the UAE are aware of the harmful effects of plastic bags and 89% of them would consider using reusable bags for grocery shopping. As a leading retailer, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to make it easier for customers to opt for eco-friendly alternatives instead of single-use plastics, by offering a wide selection of reusable bags and introducing dedicated green checkout counters among other initiatives,” he notes.

One of the trends they are starting to see is a reduction in the use of single-use plastics among the food retailers in the region, says Smitha Vijay, QHSE Operations Manager, Choithrams. Campaigns focusing on plastic reduction are being conducted by retailers to curb the usage of single use plastics, she adds.

So, is the region ready for a ban on single-use plastics?

Customers are gradually beginning to realise that if they do not make conscious choices today, it might be too late in the future, says Philippe Peguilhan. “Our responsibility in this regard is to use every opportunity at our disposal to educate customers about the importance of acting with our planet in mind. Ultimately, however,

we all need to buy in so that together we can curb the use of single-use plastics on a wide scale and create meaningful and lasting change.”

Always one step ahead and a pioneer in many fields, UAE can surely implement a complete ban on

single-use plastics “with coordinated efforts from the government and all players in the industry, however in a phased manner,” Smitha Vijay opines. According to the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, the average UAE resident uses 1,182 plastic bags per year. To protect the planet, “we must aim and plan high so that our future generations will benefit from our natural resources,” she says. Every bit counts so every individual needs to contribute towards such initiatives collectively by practising at each and every home, she remarks also adding that major corporates can make a bigger impact by leading by example.

Key initiatives Leading supermarkets have

introduced certain initiatives to encourage customers to decrease their reliance on single-use plastic bags and also make the business more sustainable.

Carrefour is constantly exploring ways to support waste reduction and reduce its environmental impact “as dictated by Majid Al Futtaim’s

SHOPPERS SPEAK: WASTE & RECYCLING MIDDLE EAST SURVEY

We conducted a small online survey to see what the shoppers at super-markets had to say about Single-use plastics.

We asked them two questions: • Do you think regulation will help reduce the use of single-use plastic

in this region?• Do you think a charge for plastic bags at supermarkets will help

reduce the use of single-use plastics?

Here are the results:The survey indicated that regulation has a key role to play in effectively

introducing measures in this regard with 100% of the respondents agreeing that regulation would surely help reduce the use of single-use plastics in this region.

The survey also showed that 81% of the respondents thought a charge for plastic bags at supermarkets would help reduce the use of single-use plastics. Only 19% are of the view that a fee for plastic bags would not help reduce the use of single-use plastics.

“Recent retail customer trends indicate growing awareness with regard to sustainability and environmental issues, particularly problems related to plastics.”

Grandiose - Refill section

FOCUS


overarching vision to become Net Positive in carbon and water by 2040,” says Philippe Peguilhan. From an operational perspective, they have implemented Building Management Systems in several locations which will help reduce their electricity usage by five percent over the years, he adds.

“Last April, we opened our 100th store and most sustainable hypermarket yet. Located in City Centre Masdar, the branch sets the gold standard in eco-friendly design featuring a state-of-the-art refrigeration system, solar panels, high efficiency cooling units and is also completely free of single-use plastic bags,” notes the Country Manager, Carrefour UAE.

Apart from this, they have “long been a leader in raising awareness about the harmful effects of single-use plastic bags”, he states, adding that Carrefour was in fact “the first retailer in the region to introduce reusable bags, doing so more than a decade ago.”

They recently refreshed their line-up of reusable bags under the theme “Connecting with Nature”. The bags are available in multiple sizes and designs “to suit a range of tastes and preferences” and they have also incentivised customers to bring their reusable bags along on each trip by introducing dedicated green checkout counters, and by holding buy one get one promotion, bonus points for MyClub loyalty members and more, he explains.

Grandiose Supermarket has also introduced various initiatives to make their business more sustainable, most importantly they have taken positive steps with regard to single-use plastic bags and even introduced ‘refill stations’ to ensure customers become more conscious in choosing sustainable alternatives.

“At Grandiose, we have removed all single-use plastic bags from our checkout counters, providing customers with reusable bag options, along with paper bags for their groceries,” says Fabrice le Boulenger, CEO of Grandiose Supermarket. “So, consumers don’t have a choice, whilst shopping with us, but to use environmentally friendly and reusable bags, which will instill a sense of awareness and drive a positive habit in their daily lives.”

Moreover, they have a ‘refill section’ for nuts and many products in their stores, and “we recommend that customers bring their own jars/reusable containers to use while shopping with us, that way they are also saving time while shopping and reducing usage of plastic bags,” the CEO comments.

Choithrams’ sustainability strategy is ‘Planet 7 Sustainability Plan’. In their retail operations and supply chain, they focus primarily on three environmental clusters namely waste, water and energy, says Smitha Vijay. “All our newly joined employees are inducted in sustainability basics along with QHSE standards. They attend sustainability awareness sessions in water savings, energy reduction and waste minimisation (eliminating/reducing cling film wraps in certain fruit and vegetable items) initiatives.

We achieved waste minimisation by waste recycling (plastic, paper, cartons and wood) and waste reduction initiatives.”

They have started selling reusable jute bags called “Bags for Life” to their customers to encourage the reduction of single-use plastic bags. “We selectively source and encourage the sale of bio-degradable plates and other disposable cutlery in our stores. Bio-degradable containers have been introduced in our fresh salad counters. We also collaborate with local manufacturers and MNCs to collect re-usable plastic for recycling,” says the QHSE Operations Manager highlighting their initiatives to reduce the use of single-use plastics.

A major part of supermarket waste is organic waste in the form of food trimmings, expired food, near expiry and damaged foods.

“One caveat, however, is that this cause is a shared responsibility and therefore one that requires action from all segments of society and not retailers alone.”

FOCUS


At present Choithrams is analysing the availability and suitability of installing a composting machine in their retail operation as it is the key to waste reduction, says Smitha Vijay. “We recycle huge quantities of unfit and expired food through Dubai Municipality approved recyclers to reduce waste to landfill. We are also a partner of UAE Food Bank and donate to this noble initiative food that is safe to consume.”

Major challenges in implementing these initiatives and customer response

While many customers know that their shopping habits need to change, it isn’t a shift that can occur overnight nor should we expect it to, says Philippe Peguilhan. Carrefour has introduced several initiatives to not only make it easier, but also rewarding to make sustainable choices, which their customers have responded positively to, he states.

“While it will take some time before it becomes second nature for customers to bring their reusable bags along on each trip, we remain committed to continuing to raise awareness on the topic for the sake of the environment and the communities in which we operate in. One caveat, however, is that this cause is a shared responsibility and therefore one that requires action from all segments of society and not retailers alone,” he underscores.

In Fabrice le Boulenger’s view, one of the many challenges is education. He says there is a lack of awareness and consciousness with regard to the benefits of recycling and the environmental advantages of eco-friendly initiatives. What Grandiose is trying to do is to create a momentum that they hope will trigger other players in the market to follow suit. “People still want to use plastic bottles, and plastic bags, as to them it is what they have been used to – and the easiest choice available too,” he comments.

Since Grandiose launched their operations in the UAE, they have been doing regular screenings and surveys with customers which have shown that the initiatives have been very well perceived by them, says the CEO. “Customers are loving the system we have implemented and are always returning to shop with us. What excites them most is that they feel part of rising eco-friendly culture that is contributing to the overall wellbeing of the society and creating a corporate citizenship force.”

When Choithrams started their Planet 7 Sustainability journey way back in 2013, they faced challenges in implementing the sustainability strategy in the supply chain and offices, says Smitha Vijay. “Challenges included the lack of awareness among the employees and certain activities consumed more time like achieving waste recycling goals. We tackled it by conducting more awareness sessions for our employees. Most of our customers are empathetic towards such initiatives. We are also the preferred retail partners of Unilever to carry out consumer awareness programmes in our stores, wherein we educate consumers on water saving techniques through their product ranges,” she remarks.

Consumers play a critical role in bringing about a change in environmental protection measures. It is important for them to understand and adopt options for sustainable living. It is also important for supermarkets that are seeking to encourage that change, to identify and offer sustainable choices, so shoppers can opt for the one that’s in the best interests of the individual and environment.

However, as one of experts has explicitly stated above, it is a collective responsibility and it is not just up to the supermarkets to make it easier for consumers to make sustainable choices, but also important for the shoppers and all other stakeholders involved to take necessary action to help tackle plastic pollution and reduce overall environmental impact.

Fabrice le BoulengerCEO, Grandiose Supermarket

Smitha VijayQHSE Operations Manager, Choithrams

Carrefour-Reusable Bag


INDUSTRY LEADER

“A comprehensive municipal solid waste management scheme requires a model that is economical, efficient and sustainable” –

Dr. Hisham Sherif

Dr. Hisham Sherif, ENTAG-ECARU Group CEO, shares his thoughts on the state of the waste management industry in Africa, particularly Egypt,

the challenges facing the waste recycling sector, the current trends and key developments in the country as well as his role and contribution to this critical

sector in an interview with Swaliha Shanavas.

Please tell us about your background and experience in the waste recycling industry. What inspired you to enter this industry?

I earned my M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from Minia University in 1989, and Ph.D. under joint supervision of Minia University and Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland, UK (1994). I had also worked as a Lecturer in the Chemical Engineering Department, Minia University. Since 2005 I have been working as Chief Executive Officer of Engineering Tasks Group (ENTAG), an Egyptian firm specialised in the design, construction management and procurement of material recovery facilities (MRF), sorting, composting and alternative solid fuel production as well as design and construction of landfills.

I have assisted over 30 Municipalities in Egypt and abroad to upgrade composting facilities and to plan, construct, and operate new facilities. I have vast experience in local and international procurement, laws and procedures governing licensing, import, and joint ventures. Moreover, from 1997 till date I have been working as CEO of Egyptian Company for Solid Waste Recycling (ECARU), Pioneer Company in Agricultural Residues(Biomass) Collection, Transportation and Treatment.

ECARU is also operating MSW treatment facilities through processing and disposal contracts with Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Local Development. Through these projects different utilisation of MSW and agriculture residues (Biomass) have been investigated such as producing compost, animal feed, alternative energy, agro pellets and briquettes and biomass production for Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), and Pulp and Paper industries. In 1995, the Government of Egypt implemented the Waste Treatment Programme that covers major areas of Egypt; through public-private partnerships, a simple composting system, which involves manual

Dr. Hisham Sherif CEO, ENTAG-ECARU Group


ARTICLEINDUSTRY LEADER

sorting and mechanical separation to produce compost. In 1998, I had signed a cooperation agreement with National Organisation of Military Production (NOMP), Ministry of Military Production to work as a technology provider in all these projects implemented in Egypt.

Since 2002 I have been working internationally in designing and manufacturing MSW Treatment and Disposal equipment and systems and developing turnkey projects (including MRF, composting, RDF production and landfilling) in Libya, Malaysia, Sudan, KSA, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Nigeria and UAE.

As the CEO at Entag what does your role involve? My role as CEO is to lead the development and execution

of long-term strategies, with the goal of increasing the companies’ values. Since 1995, I have established Municipal Solid Waste, MSW treatment and disposal projects (MRF, composting, RDF production and landfilling) in Egypt from scratch; Starting 1997, I have established Integrated Biomass Projects including collection, transportation and processing in Egypt from the ground up; In 2010 I had registered for the first and only CDM project in Egypt; From 2011 till date I have established alternative solid fuel (RDF – BDF) production and supply in Egypt from scratch.

What do you love most about your job, and what is the most challenging aspect?

Waste management is a challenging, but ultimately fulfilling area of work to get into. Essentially, it’s all about planning and managing schemes that help reduce the environmental impact of waste that is produced by human activity or industrial operations.

What is your view on the development of the waste management and recycling industry in Egypt?

The treatment and disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) is still a new concept in low-income areas of developing countries. Ineffective management of MSW is one of the major environmental problems. In 1995, the Government of Egypt established a plan for implementing Waste Treatment Programme that covers major urban centres. One of the approaches used to meet the demands of this highly ambitious goal was to create a simple composting system, which involves manual sorting and mechanical separation to produce organic composts. To accomplish the tasks involved in reaching this goal, public-private-partnerships were formed. The parts and equipment needed for MSW treatment plants were manufactured in factories owned by the Government, which reduced the manufacturing costs tremendously. Private companies participated as technology providers of the MSW services in collaboration with international companies that could provide required system and equipment. The evolution of technology involved in MSW in Egypt has gone through a series of developments and modifications.

A comprehensive MSW management requires a model, which is economical, efficient, and sustainable. In waste management and recycling industry, the main components are the development of technological solutions and building

the institutional capacity to fulfill the needs of MSW management.

The development of the waste management and recycling industry in Egypt could be summarised as follows:

Technical Development • Activation of a dedicated regulatory institution for

solid waste management that builds capacities at the national level

• Expanding public private partnership (PPP) programmes and incentivising small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the solid waste management sector.

• Create a framework for adopting Organic Residues Management technologies. This would include preset standards for compost.

• Create a framework for adopting waste-to-energy technologies. This would include preset standards for RDF and plans to integrate waste-to-energy projects into economic sectors such as cement industry

• Landfill regulations and standards that provide a basis for compliance and monitoring should be established.

Legal Development There is a need to revise the existing tender documents

for integrated waste management to include lessons learned from on-going contracts. Missing conditions such as requiring the contractor to treat at least 60 percent of the municipal waste collected should be included. The law should be enforced to prevent the dumping of solid waste in prohibited locations.

Managerial Development There is a definite need for building capacity of

management and technical personnel to effectively manage the treatment facilities. Training should be provided at all levels.

Social Development Public awareness programmes should be launched for

source separation. The public and officials in MSW sector should also be aware that treatment and disposal (including sorting, composting, and proper landfilling) are services.

Political Development There are many strategies for municipal solid waste

management, these have to be evaluated and a single strategy developed to be applied countrywide.

As a specialist company that does research, designs and constructs landfill facilities and provides other waste recycling solutions, what are the major challenges you might have observed with regard to proper waste management in Africa overall?

The major challenges to proper waste management in Africa are:

• The need for institutional, legislative or legal restructuring to make available effective tools for


INDUSTRY LEADER

waste management• One major challenge of MSW in Africa is the creation

of enough capacity not only limited to monetary terms but also technological and infrastructural advancement

• Lack of financing and technical support for assisting the waste management sector.

What are the key issues you face in effectively implementing various waste recycling projects in Africa?

• Lack of financing in waste recycling projects in Africa.

• Private sector should be actively involved and should be encouraged and allowed to partner with government bodies; this will lead to positive social, economic and environmental impacts.

How important is recycling in the context of Circular Economy and what opportunities does this sector present in Africa?

For a circular economy it is essential to recycle materials from waste in order to ‘close the loop’. The recovery of materials and energy from waste also plays an important role for the circular economy by producing valuable products from recyclables (paper, metals, glass, plastic, etc.) and compost for land fertilising and alternative solid fuel for heavy energy consuming industries and increasing the treatment conversion rates and minimising the amount of rejects diverted to landfill sites.

What are the current programmes that enhance the performance of this industry in Africa/Egypt?

There are various financing, governmental, technical and environmental programmes to assist and enhance waste management industry such as: Ministry of trade and industry, for industry and trade development strategy; Clean Development Mechanism, CDM; UNDP Egypt; African Development Bank; United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA; World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies; USAID Programmes; World Bank; NDF, Nordic Development Fund; IRENA, International Renewable Energy Agency.

What changes can we expect in this area in the near future? What are the key trends that are influencing the market and could reshape the waste recycling sector in Africa or specific country within?

The Africa waste management market is growing significantly and is expected to continue to grow further in the forecast period. Africa needs effective waste management providers that meet the regulatory requirements and address the waste issues in an effective manner. Key Trends that are influencing the market and could reshape the waste recycling sector in Africa are:

• Growing need for effective waste collection services and increasing recycling trend in Africa for producing recyclables, compost, and alternative solid fuel and renewable energy.

• Enhancement of the waste management financial modeling as follows:

FOOD WASTE


The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), UAE organised a special event in co-

operation with the food tech company Winnow to celebrate the launch of Win-now’s new AI-enabled product Vision. The tool allows kitchens to automatical-ly track food waste through leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to help chefs easily identify what items are routinely wasted and adjust their purchasing lists and menus to cut down on costs and concurrently save the resources that are used in food production, such as water, energy, and land.

Headlined by H.E. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and His Excellency Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, the event brought together leading govern-ment and private sector entities to sign the UAE Food Waste Pledge.

MOCCAE in cooperation with Winnow launched the pledge initiative in mid-2018 to support the national target to halve food waste by 2030 and meet the food waste reduction target outlined by the UN Sustainable Devel-opment Goals. Through the initiative, UAE-based hospitality companies un-dertook the challenge of reducing food waste and pledged to save one million meals in 2018, two million meals in 2019, and three million meals in 2020.

“Today, I am pleased to reaffirm the UAE’s commitment to meeting the global target to cut food losses and waste by 50 percent by 2030 in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. To ensure that we can achieve the trans-

formative change, I invite the entire hospitality sector in the UAE to join our pledge and commit to reducing food waste in its operations now,” said His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi.

“The fast pace of technological advancement brings us a wealth of in-novations that we can leverage to drive our sustainability agenda forward. Employing artificial intelligence as a powerful tool to manage and eliminate food waste adds significant momen-tum to our efforts and makes our task that much easier and more seamless. Efficient collaboration between hospi-tality and tech companies will inform food waste management decisions and deliver substantial benefits,” he added.

“The UAE strives to leverage AI technologies to meet the UN’s Sus-tainable Development Goals and improve its performance in the global competitiveness indexes. Doing so

requires synergies between the public and private sector across the board,” said His Excellency Al Olama. “Curbing food waste is an area where AI can be a useful tool and bring in tremendous benefits to sustain the sector for cur-rent and future generations.”

“The hospitality sector in the UAE is leading the charge in the global fight against food waste. We are incredibly proud of the fantastic results chefs partnering with Winnow have achieved. These pioneers have proved that it is possible to do the right thing for both their business bottom lines and the planet,” said Marc Zornes, co-founder and CEO of Winnow.

The signatories to the pledge at the event include Dubai Municipality, Eti-had Airways, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, JA Resorts and Hotels, and Mayar Facili-ties Management Company, a subsidi-ary of Al Barakah Holding.

UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment encourages use of AI to

reduce food waste

PLASTIC PACKAGING


Dow, in partnership with UPM Biofuels, a producer of advanced biofuels, announced the

commercialisation of a plastics offering for the packaging industry made from a bio-based renewable feedstock.

Dow is integrating wood-based UPM BioVerno renewable naphtha – a key raw material used to develop plastics – into its slate of raw materials, creating an alternative source for plastics production. The company is using this feedstock to produce bio-based polyethylene (PE) at its production facility in Terneuzen, The Netherlands, for use in packaging applications such as food packaging to reduce food waste. Following a successful year-long trial programme, the company says it is now planning to scale production and address the increasing global demand for renewable plastics.

“The partnership between UPM and Dow illustrates our ambition to ensure the products we sell support the shift from a traditional linear economy towards a circular economy,” said Carsten Larsen, Dow’s Recycling Commercial Director for Europe. “At the end of their useful life, products and

materials are recovered as efficiently as possible so they can be used again. We are focusing on the sustainability properties of every polymer we bring to market by working with partners like UPM to source alternative feedstocks to minimise the amount of fossil resources required for production.”

UPM BioVerno naphtha is produced at the company’s biorefinery in Lappeenranta, Finland, from crude tall oil, which is a residue of paper pulp production. Unlike many other alternative renewable feedstocks, no extra land is required for the feedstock production and the feedstock is said to originate from sustainably managed forests.

This process also significantly reduces CO2 emissions, especially by carbon sequestration, compared to standard fossil derived PE resins (up to 57% based on C2G analysis for bio-LDPE completed with UPM, Elopak and Anthesis), and the plastics produced can help brand owners meet their sustainability packaging goals. The entire supply chain is International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) certified, based on mass balance

approach, meaning all steps meet traceability criteria and reduce negative environmental impacts, as per the company.

Packaging made from this renewable feedstock can be fully recyclable as demonstrated through a collaboration with brand owner Elopak, an international supplier of paperboardbased packaging for food and beverage. Dow’s bio-based low-density polyethylene (LDPE) resins are used to coat Elopak’s liquid carton containers and in the production of carton caps, resulting in a 100 percent renewable beverage carton. This was achieved without compromising the benefits of the original form of plastic-coated packaging in addition to reducing the CO2 footprint of the packaging during production and use.

“It’s exciting to work with Dow and Elopak in the production of a truly sustainable consumer product,” stated Panu Routasalo, vice president for UPM Biofuels. “We are pleased to help meet value chain demand for increased sustainability in packaging by providing a highquality renewable naphtha for the market.”

This agreement with UPM is the latest example of Dow’s strategy to enable a shift to a circular economy for plastics by focusing on resource efficiency and integrating recycled content and renewable feedstocks into its production processes. The company also recently partnered with the Fuenix Ecogy Group, based in Weert, The Netherlands, for the supply of pyrolysis oil feedstock, which is made from recycled plastic waste. Through these efforts, post-consumer plastics will continue to have value through an extended lifespan and the company says these agreements also contribute to its commitment to incorporate at least 100,000 tonnes of recycled plastics in its product offerings sold in the European Union by 2025.

DOW AND UPM PARTNER TO PRODUCE PLASTICS MADE WITH RENEWABLE FEEDSTOCK

R&D - PACKAGING


Nestlé recently inaugurated the Institute of Packaging Sciences, touted as the first-of-

its-kind in the food industry. The new Institute enables Nestlé to accelerate its efforts to bring functional, safe and environmentally friendly packaging solutions to the market and to address the global challenge of plastic packaging waste, as per the company.

“Our vision is a world in which none of our packaging ends up in landfill or as litter. To achieve this, we introduce reusable packaging solutions and pioneer environmentally friendly packaging materials. Furthermore, we support the development of local recycling infrastructure and deposit schemes to help shape a waste-free world. The Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences enables us to create a strong pipeline of sustainable packaging solutions for Nestlé products across businesses and markets,” said Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO.

The new institute focuses on a number of science and technology areas, such as refillable or reusable packaging, simplified packaging materials, recycled packaging materials, high-performance barrier papers as well as bio-based, compostable and biodegradable materials.

“Reducing plastic waste and mitigating climate change effects through cutting-edge technology and product design are a priority for us. Nestlé experts are co-developing and testing new environmentally friendly packaging materials and systems together with our development centres, suppliers, research institutions and startups. Located at our Nestlé Research facilities in

Lausanne, Switzerland, the Institute also leverages our existing research capabilities in food safety, analytics and food science,” said Stefan Palzer, Nestlé CTO.

Commenting on the inauguration, Sander Defruyt, New Plastics Economy Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said, “Nestlé was one of the first companies to sign the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, setting concrete targets to eliminate plastic waste and pollution at the source. It is great to see the world’s largest consumer goods company now increasing its research focus and capacity to deliver on these ambitions.”

The company is already making progress towards its 2025 packaging commitments and has launched new packaging solutions. For instance, Nestlé packaging experts

and suppliers developed products in recyclable paper packaging such as the Nesquik All Natural cocoa powder and the YES! snack bars in under 12 months, the company noted.

The Institute is part of the company’s fundamental research entity Nestlé Research in Switzerland. Speaking at the official opening, Philippe Leuba, State Councilor of the Swiss Canton of Vaud, said: “This new institute will strengthen our Canton as a centre of excellence when it comes to the food value chain and allow the development of innovative packaging solutions that respect the environment and sustainable development. Waste management, a global challenge, will now benefit from an innovation ecosystem in the Canton of Vaud made up of universities as well as research centres from major private sector players such as Nestlé.”

NESTLÉ OPENS PACKAGING RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Part of Hosted by ADSW Principal Partner

Co-located with Organised by

Strategic Partner

Explore the future of waste management in a circular economy.Experience the transformation of waste into valuable resource at the EcoWASTE

Exhibition & Forum 2020 – and be inspired by the innovative ideas, business

opportunities and technologies at the cutting edge of recycling, waste

management and waste-to-biofuels.

E c o W A S T E E X H I B I T I O N & F O R U M H I G H L I G H T S :

• Discover thousands of innovative products and brands

• Attend expert-led sessions at the EcoWASTE Forum

• Network and meet suppliers at the Business Connect lounge

R E G I S T E R F O R F R E E

www.ecowaste.ae

Waste and Recycling advert.pdf 1 9/15/19 2:16 PM

BATTERY RECYCLING


Broad spectrum of participants clearly shows steadily growing interest in

battery recycling: ICBR 2019

The International Congress for Battery Recycling ICBR 2019 that concluded successfully drew

participation not only from the recycling sector but also from other relevant industries including manufacturers. Over 320 participants attended this year’s industry meeting in Lyon, France, “more than ever before in the 24-year history of the event, impressively underscoring its reputation among the world’s leading battery recycling congresses,” said conference organiser ICM. Representatives of many well-known manufacturers including Renault, Ford, Duracell, Saft, Nissan, Apple, Toyota, Honda, Volvo, FDK Corporation, Volkswagen, Robert Bosch and Fiat Chrysler were present in Lyon this year.

“The broad spectrum of participants clearly shows the steadily growing interest in battery recycling – not only from the recycling sector itself, but also increasingly from various industries,” said Jean-Pol Wiaux, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the ICBR, summarising the event.

The ICBR had a wide range of conference topics to offer: 30 presentations, two panel discussions and one workshop were on the conference program as well as two plant tours to the companies SNAM and MTB Recycling and, last but not least, a top-class exhibition.

The congress was opened by Ghislain Lescuyer, CEO of the French battery manufacturer Saft. He spoke about the importance of batteries for the renewable energy market and the role of electrical energy storage. The keynote speech by Jean-Denis Curt, Recycling & Circular Economy Unit Manager at Renault, also met with great interest. He described how recycling management is implemented at Renault and what the goals of the car manufacturer are. The latest figures and trends on the lithium battery market was presented by battery expert Christophe Pillot, Director of Avicenne Energy.

Other presentations dealt with the aspects of transportation and safety

as well as the availability of critical raw materials. For example, George A. Kerchner of the US company PRBA presented the complexities of transporting new, refurbished and scrap lithium batteries. Stéphane Bourg from the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission spoke about the raw materials required for the strategic EU industrial value chain for batteries.

Another key focus of the conference was on batteries for electric vehicles. Prof. Bernd Friedrich of the IME Process Metallurgy and Metal Recycling Institute at RWTH Aachen University in Germany presented the impact of process chain design on recycling efficiency with both simulation and practical results. Renata Arsenault from Ford Motor Co. spoke about the OEM perspective on battery recycling in the new mobility era. The presentations were complemented by presentations on the latest technological developments as well as country reports on battery collection systems in France and the current state of electric mobility in Norway.

“Industry representatives appreciate the ICBR not only for its conference presentations, but also for its excellence as a networking platform. Again, this year there was plenty of opportunity to do so, not only during the congress, but also on the evening of the first day,” said ICM. Traditionally, ICM comes up with something special and this year the conference participants were invited to the networking dinner at the famous restaurant L’Abbaye founded by star chef Paul Bocuse, said the organiser. The next edition of ICBR will be held 16-18 September 2020 in Salzburg, Austria.

Part of Hosted by ADSW Principal Partner

Co-located with Organised by

Strategic Partner

Explore the future of waste management in a circular economy.Experience the transformation of waste into valuable resource at the EcoWASTE

Exhibition & Forum 2020 – and be inspired by the innovative ideas, business

opportunities and technologies at the cutting edge of recycling, waste

management and waste-to-biofuels.

E c o W A S T E E X H I B I T I O N & F O R U M H I G H L I G H T S :

• Discover thousands of innovative products and brands

• Attend expert-led sessions at the EcoWASTE Forum

• Network and meet suppliers at the Business Connect lounge

R E G I S T E R F O R F R E E

www.ecowaste.ae

Waste and Recycling advert.pdf 1 9/15/19 2:16 PM


INNOVATION

PureCycle Technologies announced it has successfully completed purified waste carpet from its Feedstock Evaluation Unit (FEU), transforming discarded carpet

into clear, odourless, ultra-pure polypropylene (UPRP) resin through its proprietary plastics recycling technology, developed and invented by Procter & Gamble (P&G).

The successful scaling of the technology unlocks the value for a wide range of waste polypropylene (PP) that can be restored to its original virgin-like condition, said the company in a press release. This technology will result in a substantial increase in demand for scrap PP and is expected to help provide alternatives to landfilling and exporting plastic scrap.

The FEU is the first of two phases for PureCycle’s plant in Hanging Rock, Ohio. The second phase will come online in the summer of 2021, will process 119 million pounds of scrap PP each year, as per the statement. The plant is expected to produce over 105 million pounds of virgin-like PP per year, which will be used in consumer goods packaging, home furnishings and other applications that currently have very limited recycled PP options today. The company said it is also working towards submitting for a letter of non-object from the FDA for their ultra-pure recycled polypropylene to be used in food grade applications.

“There is an overwhelming demand for high-quality recycled polypropylene, and this milestone is a huge step for us—and the industry—toward addressing a growing market that is demanding recycled applications,” said Mike Otworth, CEO of PureCycle Technologies. “This achievement not only proves the technology at scale, but also builds on the momentum of the business as we move closer towards scaling operations beyond our first plant.”

The development of the technology is said to have begun when P&G was looking for more ways to incorporate additional recycled content into their applications, specifically targeting PP. With limited amounts of rPP available in the market, P&G set out to develop their own process to purify scrap polypropylene. “This groundbreaking innovation is the heart of PureCycle and continues to be a key initiative for P&G and their goal of reducing petroleum plastic in their packaging by 50%.”

The process removes colour, odour and impurities, producing virgin-like resin. “This Ultra-Pure Recycled Polypropylene (UPRP) delivers a consistent product that meets virgin-like specifications to meet the demands of various industries. In fact, demand for recycled PP is so high, PureCycle’s first plant is fully subscribed and has begun site selection for our large-scale operation in Europe,” as per the press statement.

“This technology, which can remove virtually all contaminants and colours from used plastic, has the capacity to revolutionise the plastics recycling industry by enabling P&G and companies around the world to tap into sources of recycled plastics that deliver nearly identical performance and properties as virgin materials in a broad range of applications,” said Kathy Fish, P&G’s Chief Research, Development and Innovation Officer.

While the FEU is located at the first plant’s site, it is a perpetual asset to the company that will allow PureCycle to refine the operating conditions and process waste polypropylene from around the world to help with the sizing for future plants in other geographies. Plant 1 will process a broad range of feedstocks, ranging from carpet and food packaging to toys, automotive components and other plastic waste.

PureCycle Technologies completes run of groundbreaking plastics

recycling technologyCompany transforms waste carpet into Ultra-Pure Recycled

Polypropylene through its proprietary plastics recycling technology, developed by Procter & Gamble


RECOVERED PAPER REPORT

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) released its Recovered Paper Quarterly

Report-Sept/Oct, which indicates the latest quarter has maintained the same momentum as the previous one, with flat demand and the reel market failing to reflect its level of 2018. Reel stocks are rising, especially for newsprint, and recovered paper inventories are also high.

With respect to the lower grades, there is insufficient demand for the available supply and the lowest grades are difficult to place in the market. Purchase prices are under pressure; paper makers are loaded down with stock and are receiving many offers. The market is looking forward to the arrival in Europe of the new machines that have been announced. However, some projects are waiting for better days in the packaging sector, the report highlighted.

Though Asian paper mills are offering some solutions, it is not enough. Chinese manufacturers are buying very little volume in Europe, reserving their quotas for other markets and it is also perceived that China’s domestic collections are rising sharply.

Indonesia has placed strict controls so exporting to this country has become a complicated issue, but this market offers an alternative to China and its weak collection performance implies a requirement for substantial import volumes to meet paper mills’ needs, the report states. Other Far East countries are booking orders at lower prices. Overall, the Asian market is slow and demand for finished products is weak. Further, the Chinese economy has been affected by the trade dispute with the USA.

For the medium grade market, it has been a year of disruption and

newsprint sales have declined sharply. Customers are also said to be facing competition from low-priced newsprint reels coming out of Russia. The deinking market is subject to regular price declines so that it is almost impossible to sell everything. Several machines stopped temporarily this summer in Europe and will continue with regular shuts until the end of the year, the report states. Manufactured product inventories are quite high and there are not many alternatives. As per the report, UPM has announced that it will sell the Chapelle Darblay plant near Rouen but will wait until January to find a buyer. Thus, the market may lose another machine from this sector. The only support is coming from German paper mills which have continued to import from France. Meanwhile, it is almost as if the Far East market has ceased to exist.

In the high grade market, the

BIR RECOVERED PAPER WORLD MIRROR


RECOVERED PAPER REPORT

demand is still at low levels for some materials. The market is following the trend in pulp for which there is pressure on prices. This is a crucial year where the industry is still suffering the consequences of the Chinese government’s decisions. Europe is a market of surplus with demand from the continent’s paper mills being insufficient to absorb available supply and waste management companies having to export their material.

Under current conditions, quality requirements are rising, and the present and future trend must be towards adapting the production and focusing on quality. Many controls are being established and professionalism and traceability must be respected. We are in a downcycle, but the market will get going again, says the report.

Many of the recent production stops implemented by consumers of recovered paper were due to the weakened economy, the report from Germany showed. In July, this led to reduced demand for recovered paper, and especially the lower grades which resulted in price cuts on occasions, but the price declines now appear to have stopped.

Contracts differed according to geographical region. For the middle and higher grades, the market situation varied from one quality to another: some, including 3.04, were in good demand and were achieving higher prices, whereas others such as 3.18.01 were experiencing too much availability. Overall, the market in these segments was fairly balanced. At the same time, the amount of recovered paper and the volumes collected by waste management companies were declining, the main reason for this being the significant economic downturn across all manufacturing sectors. All recovered paper volumes were sold either in Europe or in export countries.

In August, the recovered paper market lacked momentum and stocks were high for both suppliers and customers alike. The situation was unaffected by the significantly lower quantities of material collected by waste management companies owing to the overall economic

situation. Numerous paper mills tried to reduce agreed volumes, in some cases quite substantially, and justified this approach by claiming a drastic decrease in their order books. On balance, demand from the paper industry was lower than it had been for a long time, as per the report. In Germany, prices for the lower grades dropped by single digits, but by double digits for the higher grades. The recovered paper collection industry was trapped between massively increased quality, logistics and labour costs in various areas, and continuously decreasing prices.

In September, recovered paper availability was high and in line with the seasonal norm, the report shows. Excess availability persisted among the lower grades in particular. Shutdowns by paper mills appear to be over, with production in Germany returning to almost normal levels. With regard to the quality control of incoming material, complaints from numerous paper mills increased sharply. Recovered paper that used to be good enough in terms of quality is now often penalised with price cuts or even rejected.

The previous report from Italy had highlighted the contradictory policy that promoted an increase in recovered paper collections at a time of evident surplus. This “self-defeating” exercise has persisted over the last couple of months, with public collection activities helping to create a clear oversupply, states the report. At the same time in August, most mills stopped production for what they claimed was extra maintenance work, but in reality, the reason was probably that they were already overstocked with finished product, the report underscores. This situation has not been so different from that seen in the rest of Europe, with talk of stock lots of reels at lower prices and of supposedly “second and/or inferior quality”. Recovered paper suffered as a consequence. Despite a reduction in voluntary collections, operators have had to contend with excessive stocks on a regular basis. There is still some export activity and overseas shipments remain a possibility if the material is satisfactory in terms of purity and quality.

The effects of the changing paper landscape have continued to cause disruption and volatility, the UK report underlines. The sources of this include: the trade war between US and China, resulting in the potential for import tariffs of 5 percent; reduced import quotas in China resulting in reduced buying and depressed prices; and further uncertainty concerning import restrictions in the Far East, in particular in Indonesia. Thus, the recycled paper world is continuously having to adapt and seek new outlets.

However, history shows that out of change, disruption and volatility, there is always opportunity. This is being seen in Europe as mill groups and paper reprocessors are investing in new capacity specifically to target imports from the USA. It is likely these facilities will be located close to ports or docks to further optimise haulage and container unloading. These could be in place as early as 2020. The additional capacity is anticipated to make Europe a valuable region for the recycled paper market, with the potential to contribute towards the realignment of supply and demand, in particular if China is to eliminate solid waste imports from 2020.

The extent of the impact this will have on the UK paper market is yet to be determined owing to Brexit uncertainty as to whether there will be: a trade deal agreed by October 31; a further extension to the Brexit deadline; or a no-deal Brexit on October 31, the report states. Tariffs and customs duties have yet to be officially published and, therefore, there is uncertainty as to the price competitiveness of the UK over the USA and other potential sources of supply. Additionally, the continued push-back on the Brexit date has meant that UK deink mills have resorted to storing material as a contingency for low supply in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This has had the consequence of further depressing prices owing to low buying activity and is expected to continue through October. The result of the Brexit negotiations remains key to forecasting the future of the UK/European paper market.


EVENT

The “beacon events” at the expo of circular economy organised by Italian Exhibition Group focus

on the hottest issues: Industry 4.0, Mediterranean Sea and Blue Economy, innovation and packaging, under the banner of international and business potential.

It will be the “Beacon Conferences” that outline the main slant of the scientific contents of Ecomondo 2019, the most important expo in the Euro Mediterranean area dedicated to the circular economy, being held at Rimini expo centre from November 5th to 8th, organised by Italian Exhibition Group.

A programme, drawn up by the Scientific Committee chaired by Professor Fabio Fava, which will set the pace for the expo days and around which the other events will be held.

Fabio Fava explains, “The process leading to the circular economy is being defined and adopted on various continents, but it is necessary to

maintain a long-term outlook that only a place for meeting and networking like Ecomondo can ensure; side by side, the event hosts contents of research and innovation, regulations and policy, and top grade international industrial experiences are presented, along with real opportunities for financing.”

Industry 4.0: Solutions and financial instruments

Industry 4.0 to optimise the management and use of waste is the beacon event of 6th November. The conference will highlight innovative solutions and public and private financial instruments which contribute to speeding up the implementation of the technology enabling to increase the sector’s efficiency, flexibility and economic and financial sustainability. On this topic, the analysis of products’ life cycles is of key importance and, thanks to the possibility of tracing their individual processing, via networks

of sensors that transmit data to be processed and shared in clouds, it is possible to optimise them, favouring an integrated approach to the flow of material along the chains for managing and exploiting waste.

The great resource represented by the mediterranean sea

On the same day, 6th November, another beacon event is Structuring Italian Blue Growth: BLUEMED meets BIG.

The blue economy of the European Union is continually growing, currently has a value of 658 billion euros of turnover and provides 4 million jobs (The EU Blue Economy Report 2019). The international conference focuses on the Mediterranean Sea and will propose the vision, mission and state of the art of the initiatives underway in the area, along with the main challenges awaiting the marine economy in that zone. Research

IEG:HERE ARE THE 2019 ECOMONDO “BEACON CONFERENCES”


EVENT

and innovation are fundamental for the development of all sectors, whether established or emerging and to ensure their social-economic and environmental sustainability interventions and programmes must be integrated, but above all the strategic vision that the event wants to transmit must be strengthened.

There will also be a focus on the Mediterranean at the event on 7th November, to talk about the BLUEMED R&I initiative with the pilot project Plastic-free for a healthy Mediterranean Sea and the undertaking of the 12 countries of the area that have decided to join forces to face the international question of plastic litter together, in order to mobilise the key players of the value chain of each country of the Mediterranean in a joint, complementary and therefore more effective manner.

We are Med: challenge for a sustainable Mediterranean on 8th November will end the cycle of beacon events dedicated to “mare nostrum”, to illustrate the programme of transnational cooperation INTERREG MED 2014-2020 which involves the public national and regional institutions of 12 countries examining the need to strengthen the governance instruments in strategic fields for the Mediterranean (tourism, marine surveillance, environment and innovation).

Space will also be dedicated to the projects that share a process aimed at communicating the results achieved and boosting the capitalisation of these results.

The Economy involving water and sea will characterise 7th November with the conference dedicated to circular BLUE economy for sustainable integrated growth, based on knowledge in line with the priorities of Italy’s participation in the Summit Les Deux Rives in June 2019 in Marseilles, an initiative born to relaunch the cooperation between the northern and southern shores of the western Mediterranean.

The European programmes for bioeconomy and circular economy will be the key players on 8th November. The exploitation of urban wastewater and the organic fraction of waste, as well as the vast range of agri-food by-products, is a priority for the flagship biorefineries. But other “resources” are arriving, such as CO2, construction waste, plastic waste, used oil, WEEE etc., for which dedicated exploitation plants are being realised. The conference will illustrate the main results of the European projects under way in the frontier contexts of the circular economy.

Toward the circular economy Everything dedicated to the circular

economy, on 6th November – Circular economy: the 21st-century economic paradigm to redefine growth and development. Italy is the European country with the highest circularity index: 103 points, ahead of the United Kingdom (90) and Germany with 88 points (Source: Circular Economy Network). The paradigm that decouples growth from consumption of resources requires a long-term outlook and large investments. The conference

will focus attention on instruments, processes and financial models useful for facilitating the replanning of the industrial ecosystem in line with the paradigm of circular economy.

Circular economy also on 7th November, with the report of the first objectives achieved by the Italian platform for circular economy (ICESP) set up in 2018. ICESP promotes knowledge on national circular economy by means of a process for spreading Italian excellence and the Italian way of “doing” circular economy.

On 7th November, space will be dedicated to The future of the design of sustainable packaging. Heading to a permanent observatory on packaging innovation. A real revolution is underway in the packaging world, including design, logistic processes, new raw materials and energy saving. The conference will try to map current practices and imagine the future of various situations, in response to the legislative guidelines and the changes in the ecosystem underway at global level.

Also on 7th November, Ecomondo will dedicate a beacon event to the LIFE project, set up in 1992 by the European Union and which to date has financed over 4500 projects in the environment, nature and climate change sectors. By means of these projects, the LIFE programme has facilitated the adoption of innovative environmental solutions and generated best practices for sustainable development. The LIFE programme will be presented along with its opportunities for financing, in particular in support of environmental solutions with a perspective suited to the market.

A real investment forum, on 7th November, will look at start-ups and the need to stimulate financers of innovative projects in the energy, climate and food sectors. Ecomondo intends offering a showcase for the meeting between supply and demand, creating opportunities of visibility for a selection of start-ups, facilitating meetings with an international panel of corporate investors attending the Rimini event.

The complete continually updated programme is available on the website https://en.ecomondo.com.


SPECIAL REPORT – PLASTIC

PERFORMANCE OF PLASTIC

Export of plastic scrap from European countries towards Asia is getting difficult day by day. Almost all the Asian countries are of the opinion that the import of plastic scrap is a threat to their environment, and

at the same time, it reduces the scope of recycling of the scrap that gets generated in their countries. After the recent ban on import of plastic scrap by India, prices of plastic scrap fall in Europe as exporters remain with fewer alternates to move the material. The month of August was the last date where Indian recyclers could import plastic scrap. Although they had their valid license until almost the end of the year, they were forced to stop imports due to amendment in import rules done by the environment authority and commerce ministry of India. All the recyclers are trying to set up a meeting with the environment ministry and get some extension at least until the last date of validity of their existing import permission. It’s yet to be seen if they will succeed in this.

On the other hand, Indonesia, which became one of the biggest Asian importers of plastic scrap from Europe, had implemented lots of checks and controls at the time of loading the container at the yard of the supplier. In spite of having controls, there were 547 containers got rejected in the last three months’ time. Indonesian environment ministry sent a message to exporting countries that they do not want to become “the garbage dump of the richest countries.” Out of 547 containers, 331 containers have already been sent back to the exporting country and they are planning to send back the remaining containers as well.

Vietnam, where thousands of containers of plastic scrap were stuck, showed some positive movement. Many consignees, who had got approval to clear the cargo, achieved success in getting the containers released. Some who could not clear started to move the containers to different destinations. Still, a lot of recyclers are struggling to clear the cargo as the dues from port authority and shipping line is many times more than the cost of the material.

September-October Report

Surendra Borad, Chairman,Gemini Corporation N.V.,

Belgium


SPECIAL REPORT – PLASTIC

“High availability of prime material resulted in low prices, and that caused a negative impact on the prices of recycled granules.”

Having some clearance done, some of the exporters have already started exporting to Vietnam once again. Shipping lines are very careful, and they are not accepting bookings very easily. The exporters can book containers for only approved recyclers by shipping lines.

With less solutions towards the export market most of the plastic scrap was getting recycled within Europe. Demand for recycled granules from China supported new investment and additional capacities established by European recyclers.

The trade war between the USA and China continues, and this is bringing an indirect negative impact on plastic scrap trade. Where European recyclers invested to increase the capacity of recycling, they had planned their sales towards China. Due to the trade war customers in China lost many contracts from their USA buyers which become unviable after additional duty imposed over the import of certain goods from China. This situation got worse where China imposed the additional reciprocal duty over the prime polymers getting imported into China from the USA. This war created extra availability of prime material in the market with lower demand from Chinese manufacturers.

High availability of prime material resulted in low prices, and that made a negative impact over the prices of recycled granules. Less demand for recycled pallets from China made European plastic recyclers’ life difficult. All the additional capacities that were established in the last one and a half years came to a standstill, and the stock is getting piled up. Falling prices of recycled granules with no demand is pushing European recyclers to reduce their recycling capacity. Looking at this scenario demand of plastis scrap should remain sluggish in the coming month unless there is a change in the trade war between USA and China, which may impact the business in the long run.


METAL BULLETIN

Market sentiment may continue to be skeptical on heightened trade war and the concern on the attack of Saudi Arabia’s most important oil

facility owned by Aramco. Uncertainty due to conflicts between the world’s two largest economies has already slackened global GDP growth by 0.8 percent in the first half of 2019. The attack in the world’s largest petroleum processing plant that interrupted about 50 percent of Saudi Arabia’s oil production that is about 5 percent of global output could curb risk appetite among investors putting prices under pressure. A surge in oil prices may weigh on decelerating global economic growth. Base metal trends not likely to change significantly. Nickel prices may continue to surge on supply fears brought by Indonesia’s upcoming ban on unprocessed ore. Accelerated development in China on the new energy and electric vehicle technologies may steer demand for copper, zinc and other metals.

ALUMINUMAluminum premiums fell and struggled over continuing weak demand and longstanding surplus. Primary aluminum output in China increased by 1.4 percent from

January to August this year. However, the decline in China’s automotive production, the largest consumer of metal, brought down demand this year and weighed on the prices. The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) indicates little change in worldwide aluminum output in August compare year on year, global output reached 5.41 million tons in August, an increase by just 0.06 percent from July but 1.5 percent lower from August last year.

Dr. Sayed J. HussainCEO, Sayed Metal

PREMIUMS ROLL OVER ON WEAK MARKET

SENTIMENTS

BASE METALS OUTLOOK


METAL BULLETIN

COPPERCopper premiums compelled to decline as demand continued to disappoint leading towards Q4. Trading activity was observed to be quiet. Spot premiums for grade – A copper cathode remained under pressure as the demand position for Q4 is seen to be more and more uptight. Demand in Europe is somewhat reduced by 10 percent in Q3 compared to the same period last year. Many consumers were burdened with surplus, selling unwanted stock in market which brought down spot premiums. Furthermore, the US – China trade war sentiments continue to weigh on prices. In India, copper cathodes import increased to 82 percent in April to July, after the closure of Vedanta’s Tuticorin copper smelter that brought about shortfall in the country.

LEADThe International Lead and Zinc Study Group indicated 76 percent deficit hike global refined lead during the first half of this year from the same period in 2018. Interim data shows deficit widened to 67,000 tons in June from January of this year, up from 37,000 tons in the same period last year. Lead prices traded higher as market demand built up. Fresh positions were made in the market due to upsurge in demand by battery-makers in the physical market, which helped lead prices to trade higher. Global refined lead output increased by 1.8 percent year on year which resulted from higher output in China, India, South Korea, Italy, Mexico and the US.

NICKELNickel prices rallied in London Metal Exchange (LME) after Indonesia announced in early September to halt exports of low-grade nickel, ore containing less than

1.7 percent nickel, starting January 2020. Indonesian government initially planned the export ban of low-grade nickel to take effect in 2022, however the change of plan was acted upon to expedite the growth of the domestic nickel refining and smelting industry. A downturn in refined nickel premium was seen in spot market amid volatile LME nickel prices, which rallied near to a five-year high. Seller cut premiums low expecting to drive the market, traders were able to profit from high LME prices on stocks procured at much lower levels.

ZINCZinc premiums were mostly unchanged, traders anticipate 2019 annual contract premiums to extend next year. Global Zinc demand rose by 0.2 percent within the first half of the year. Consumption in China remained the same while South Korea, South Africa and the US showed upturn in demand. The refined zinc deficit widened in January to June this year up by 48.9 percent compared to same period in 2018, as indicated by the International Lead and Zinc Study Group. Tight supply was attributed to several global issues including labour strikes, natural disasters, environmental policies and the like. Global refined zinc production was down by 0.4 percent year on year, higher output in China, Mexico and Peru could not compensate lower output in Canada, India and Russia.

*Source: LME, Bloomberg, Reuters, FCStone, Sayed Metal Commodity Risk AnalysisDisclaimer: This commentary does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis and may be subject to conflict. This report does not constitute a recommendation or take into account the particular investment objectives, financial conditions, or need of individual investor/trader. Issue date September 2019

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