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2 days ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
The steel producer is being supported by EUR 1.53 billion in Japanese government funding to boost capacity by 2.9 million tonnes by 2029 through the expansion of its electric arc furnace (EAF) portfolio.
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3 days ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
Markus Moll, md of German consultancy SMR, told the stainless steel committee session that the US had been the biggest producer of superalloys but China was now in first place. Even so, he pointed out, the Chinese had not yet entered the key class market of rotating parts in jet engines made from superalloys. ‘They do produce high performance alloys; they do it for their military contracts, of course.
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4 days ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
‘I spoke with the director. He looked at me and said, “Henk, we’re just about holding on but if one more thing goes wrong, it’s over for us”.’ Alssema shared the chilling example during the plastics division session in Valencia. He emphasised this was not a rare story but one typical of the recycling industry – with a few market exceptions. ‘We see the same signals everywhere: pressure on margins, on stock levels, on liquidity, but also on people.
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4 days ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
This frustrating state of affairs was set out for members of the Bureau of International Recycling during the plastics division session at their Valencia convention. It was described during an update from BIR’s trade and environment director Alev Somer. ‘We’ve been negotiating [at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee] since November 2022 and have reached the point where there was no agreement at the end of what was supposed to be the final session,’ said Somer.
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5 days ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
Keynote speaker Brian Henesey, vp of Rocky Mountain Recycling in the US, told the BIR paper division at the Valencia gathering that such an approach was essential because cross-border trade pressures were putting sustainability under threat. He insisted the global recycling industry was built on interdependence. ‘We’re witnessing a steady erosion of that framework,’ Henesey warned. ‘Tariffs, export bans and nationalistic policies are challenging the very foundations of our cross-border trade.
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5 days ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
The report, The Environmental Benefits of Recycling, has been commissioned by the Bureau of International Recycling, and co-funded with consultants KPMG, to give the organisation better data when faced by regulators and policy makers. The work was heralded by BIR president Susie Burrage during the opening session of BIR’s convention in Valencia, Spain. She said the document would provide ‘a long-awaited benchmark with solid data’.
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2 weeks ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
EWD Benli Recycling has received the required official approval documents to operate on the site of its parent company Emden Werft und Dock (EWD) at Emden on the north coast. ‘The process took about a year, and we’re delighted that we can now meet the demand in Emden,’ says Björn Sommer, who heads EWD and is md of the recycling division. ‘The core maritime business will be the dismantling of ocean-going vessels, inland waterway vessels, coasters, as well as passenger ships and ferries.
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3 weeks ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
Associate Professor Oleksii Hunyak and researchers at the University of Leeds are looking to carry out eco-friendly reconstruction of the estimated 150 000 buildings and structures destroyed by the Russian military. The university is collaborating with a consortium of British, Ukrainian and Dutch organisations to deliver the Safe, Sustainable, and Swift Reconstruction of Ukraine (S3RoU) project to start recycling some of the estimated 1.4 billion tonnes of concrete debris.
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3 weeks ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
US President Donald Trump claimed in early May that bombing raids on Houthi sites had forced the rebels’ leaders to agree not to attack shipping in the Red Sea. Later Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, is reported to have said: ‘Neither side will target the other … ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping in the Red Sea.’ Oman has been mediating contacts between the US and Houthis.
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3 weeks ago | 
recyclinginternational.com | Robin Latchem
The FM outlook for May 2025 suggests significant downside pressure, largely driven by weakening demand conditions. ‘The Trend Indicator has dropped steeply to 25.4, well below the 35-point threshold indicating strong bearish sentiment, suggesting a high likelihood of falling prices,’ FastMarkets reports. ‘Forecast models project a month-on-month scrap price decrease of 9.5%, following a 6.2% decline in April.
