NEWS
ASI UPDATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
RECYCLING
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THE JOURNAL OF ALUMINIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING
SUSTAINABILITY SPECIAL
CONTENTS
Digital Edition No.10 Editorial Editor: Nadine Bloxsome Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855115 nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com
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COVER NEWS
ASI UPDATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
RECYCLING
3 NEWS/PRODUCTS
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on: ALLOW
allow for a better future
Association
update
16 Aluminium stewardship Initiative
one year on:demonstrating Impact on the ground
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THE EDITOR’S COMMENT
Climate Digital Front Cover 19 handling.indd 1
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change
rio tinto launches climate change
report
Recycling
22 the impact on recycling of
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aluminium cans that use non aluminium labels in the usa 28 Aluminium cans as a source of end user’s scrap ALUMINIUM INTERNATIONAL TODAY is published six times a year by Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email: aluminium@quartzltd.com Aluminium International Today (USO No; 022-344) is published bi-monthly by Quartz Business Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Aluminium International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Printed in the UK by: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontlanfraith, Blackwood, Gwent, NP12 2YA, UK
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metal recycling: shredding of
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Sustainability: Plain Sailing? Welcome to this special ‘Sustainability’ digital issue of Aluminium International Today. This year has already seen the aluminium industry take great strides towards a cleaner, greener, metal. So much so, that the ELYSIS Project could even see the production process of aluminium becoming emission-free in the next five years... This is a massive step not only for aluminium manufacturers, but heavy industry in general and it is brilliant to see our sector leading the way in developing sustainable technologies. I am always interested to see what articles are submitted for these special issues, as it gives me an overview of the trends and technologies currently in the spotlight. It seems recycling is still a main driver towards creating a sustainable supply chain and there is a dedicated focus on aluminium cans and the impact of recycling cans in the US that use non-aluminium labels. There is also a very interesting update from the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, which highlights their on-going work and new certifications across the value chain. I hope you enjoy the issue! Nadine Bloxsome Editor, Aluminium International Today E: nadinebloxsome@quartzltd.com W: www.aluminiumtoday.com
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ALUMINIUM RECYCLING COULD DOUBLE WITH NEW REFORMS, SAYS GREEN ALLIANCE New reforms, including a deposit return scheme (DRS), could see aluminium recycling almost double if implemented, preventing around £50 million of wasted resources each year, according to a new report by environmental think tank Green Alliance. The report, released on 11th March and titled ‘Closing the loop: Four steps towards 100 per cent aluminium packaging recycling’, looks at the state of aluminium recycling in the UK and proposes a number of ways in which it could be boosted. In 2017, the UK recycled 51 per cent of aluminium packaging, including 72 per cent of aluminium drink cans. Despite the high recycling rate for drink cans, the UK is still allowing £50 million of used aluminium packaging go to waste
each year. As part of the recently published Resources and Waste Strategy, consultations are currently open regarding the introduction of a DRS for beverage containers, extended producer responsibility (EPR), consistent collections and a plastics tax for plastic packaging containing less than 30 per cent recycled content. Aluminium recycling could double with new reforms, says Green AllianceGreen Alliance’s report argues that reforms proposed in the consultations could see almost all aluminium packaging recycled, including drink cans, aerosols, food tines, trays and foil, and reduce the amount of wasted aluminium to just three per cent. The most important finding in the report is that, to maintain quality, and therefore value, aluminium must be
extracted from the waste management process as early as possible. It becomes increasingly more expensive and energy intensive to generate high-quality material the more it becomes mixed with other materials.
ACHIEVING AN 85% RECYCLING RATE WITHIN TWO YEARS The publication of the National Audit Office’s review of the packaging recycling obligation system has again raised widespread public concern as to what is really happening to the packaging that householders recycle. But there is good news; a recent report by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation Limited (Alupro), demonstrates how an 85% recycling rate for aluminium cans will be achieved by 2020. And critically, data shows that 92% of the aluminium packaging collected for recycling in the UK, is recycled within Europe[i]; this demonstrates that there is more than sufficient capacity within the EU to recycle the aluminium packaging collected for recycling in the UK. Today there is more than enough capacity to recycle all the aluminium packaging sold in the UK. It not only
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makes good environmental sense, it makes good commercial sense too. The recycling rate for aluminium drink cans continues to increase year on year, hitting 72% in 2017[ii] (up from 70% in 2016), whilst the national recycling rate for all aluminium packaging reached 51% (up from 50% in 2016). The report, ‘Achieving an 85% Recycling Rate within 2 years’ (published on Issuu), calls for action in several areas, including consistency of local authority kerbside collec-
tions, and the much overdue reform of the packaging producer responsibility system. The effectiveness of any solution can only be measured if ALL data is reported. Therefore, every reprocessor and exporter must be obligated to report their data as part of the producer responsibility system. Recycling isn’t a waste of time, and it does work for materials that are part of the circular economy. Householders can put aluminium packaging in their kerbside recy-
cling and be reassured that it WILL be recycled, because of its intrinsic high value. It is endlessly recyclable with no loss of quality – real recycling in action. [i] The ‘End destination’ data was obtained under a “freedom of information” request from the Environment Agency. 51% of aluminium packaging collected was recycled in the UK and 41% recycled in Europe [ii] The recycling rate for aluminium beverage cans is calculated by Alupro using data supplied by the national packaging waste database and by its member companies, using methodology consistent with that used across Europe to calculate recycling rates. ht t p : / / w w w. m e t a l p a c ka g i n geurope.org
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4 INDUSTRY NEWS
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ELVAL JOINS ASI AS NEW PRODUCTION & TRANSFORMATION MEMBER ASI is pleased to announce that Elval has joined ASI as a Production & Transformation member, bringing to 86 the total number of members working towards a responsible aluminium value chain. Elval is the aluminium rolling division of ElvalHalcor S.A., one of the leading aluminium rolling man-
ufacturers worldwide and the only one in Greece. For more than 40 years, Elval has been recognised as a trusted partner and innovative aluminium manufacturer, with a broad portfolio of quality products for the packaging, construction, shipbuilding, automotive, energy, industrial and HVAC markets.
Having completed a major investment plan in state-of-the-art equipment, Elval is able to operate cutting edge production facilities, with an annual capacity of over 280,000 tons. With a strong focus on quality and innovation, Elval invests significantly in product development, employee training and the
improvement of its facilities. Through the Elval Technology Centre, a department dedicated to R&D, Elval is able to introduce innovations in both manufacturing processes and high quality products.
ELYSIS RESEARCH CENTRE TO OPEN IN SAGUENAY-LAC-SAINT-JEAN REGION IN QUÉBEC ELYSIS recently announced the site for its new research and development facility in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region in Québec, which will directly employ more than 25 experts when it is fully operational. The ELYSIS joint venture, by global aluminium industry leaders Rio Tinto and Alcoa, is working to commercialise by 2024 a breakthrough technology that eliminates all direct greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the traditional aluminium smelting process, instead producing pure oxygen. The ELYSISTM process has the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of the aluminium industry on a global scale. The new ELYSIS Research and Development Center will be located at Rio Tinto’s Complexe Jonquière, the site of the Arvida smelter, Vaudreuil refinery and Arvida Research and Development Centre. It is expected to be fully operational in the second half of 2020. The new research centre is locating in the Saguenay–Lac-
Digital Edition - June 2019
Saint-Jean because of the region’s notable expertise in the aluminium sector and financial backing from both the Quebec and Canadian governments. The ELYSIS team will continue to work in close collaboration with the Alcoa Technical Center (ATC) near Pittsburgh in the United States, where this patent-protected technology
was invented and has been producing metal at different scales since 2009. The Alcoa Technical Center provides support to ELYSIS on the proprietary anode and cathode materials that are essential to this advanced smelting process. Vincent Christ, Chief Executive Officer Elysis, said: “With the development of this research centre,
we can proudly root our company in Québec, and in Saguenay–LacSaint-Jean in particular. Our team is enthusiastic about working collaboratively to refine our technology so we can help bring the aluminium industry to new levels and make it even more sustainable.”
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INDUSTRY NEWS 5
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HYDRO AND SOWITEC TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBILITY FOR FLOATING SOLAR PROJECT IN BRAZIL Through a joint venture, Norway-based aluminium producer Hydro and Germany-based renewable power developer Sowitec will see if it is possible to develop a large-scale floating solar power project in Pará state in Brazil. The solar project is planned to be installed on Lake Tucurui in the state of Pará. If realized, the solar plant will produce electricity for Hydro’s operations in Pará, including the alumina refinery Alunorte and the primary aluminium plant Albras. “Hydro has a clear strategy to further reduce emissions from our operations. Increasing our use of clean energy is an important contributor to achieving that target,” says executive vice president of Hydro’s Energy business area, Arvid Moss. The project is currently in its initial
planning phases and several factors need to be in place before a build decision can take place. “If we succeed in realizing this project, it will be an important milestone for floating solar development in Brazil,” says CEO of Sowitec Frank Hummel.
The companies are currently looking into several technical aspects, and until those are concluded and the necessary authority approvals are in place, it is too early to disclose details about potential plant size or the relating project cost.
On May 6, 2019, antitrust authorities in Brazil approved the joint venture, one of several authority permits necessary to establish the project. Hydro and Sowitec expect it will take around two years before knowing if the project can be realized in a profitable way.
NESPRESSO INVITES RIVALS TO JOIN ITS GLOBAL COFFEE POD RECYCLING SCHEME According to reports, the single-use coffee pod brand said it wants to 'improve the accessibility and convenience' of aluminium capsule recycling. Nespresso has invited rival coffee pod makers to join its global recycling programme in a move it
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claims will improve “accessibility and convenience” of recycling services for customers using single-use aluminium coffee capsules. The portioned coffee brand said it wanted to engage with its competitors in order to develop a global recycling solution for coffee
pods, amid concerns the sector encourages throwaway behaviour among consumers. Company CEO Jean-Marc Duvoisin said aluminium was a valuable and infinitely recyclable material. “We have built a global scheme for recycling our capsules,
and by inviting other companies to join our system, we hope to offer a solution for the whole category,” he said. “This decision is aligned with our global initiatives to shape a waste-free future and drive behaviour change towards a circular economy.”
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INDUSTRY NEWS 7
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JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) TESTING USE OF RECYCLED ALUMINIUM FOR USE IN FUTURE VEHICLES According to reports, JLR is developing the next phase of its aluminium closed loop strategy with an innovative recycling initiative to transform the vehicles of today into the cars of tomorrow. The ‘Reality’ project aims to recover aluminium from existing Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles and reform it into a new high-grade aluminium to create new vehicles. The process is currently being tested on early, pre-production Jaguar I-Pace prototypes which have had their batteries safely removed. These batteries enter into their own second-life process which Jaguar Land Rover is developing while the scrap from the vehicles is sorted into various materials using high-tech sensors by Axion. Once separated, the aluminium scrap is melted and reformed. When operating at full capacity, Reality is expected to reduce the CO2 impact of production while reducing the amount of virgin aluminium required to produce vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover has already reduced its global vehicle manufacturing operating CO2 by 46% per vehicle and remains committed to
an ongoing decarbonisation process. The pioneering project, co-funded by Innovate UK, is helping Jaguar Land Rover extend its closed loop aluminium economy. Between September 2013 and January 2019, around 300,000 tonnes of closedloop scrap have been processed back into the brand’s lightweight aluminium intensive architecture, across all vehicle lines including XE. In 2014, Jaguar XE was the first vehicle in the world to use aluminium alloy grade RC5754 for its body panels, which contains up to 75% recycled aluminium. Half of the XE body structure is made of aluminium alloy grades that contain an important amount of recycled aluminium content - made possible by
a closed-loop manufacturing system at the UK and Slovakia facilities. As part of an ACES future, there will be an increased opportunity for recycling through the Reality project, as Jaguar Land Rover will be able to plan for the retirement of large shared fleets. This will enable the company to engineer closed loop recycling into tight production schedules, as the vehicles can be recovered, de-polluted and shredded en masse – making a viable business case for using the company’s recycled aluminium within its own facilities. Jaguar Land Rover currently uses 180,000 tonnes of aluminium per year - a small percentage of the 80 million tonnes produced globally each year. It is already one of the
most widely recycled materials with 75% of all aluminium ever produced still in circulation. Gaëlle Guillaume, Lead Project Manager, Reality at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “More than a million cars are crushed every year in the UK and this pioneering project affords us a real opportunity to give some of them a second life. Aluminium is a valuable material and a key component in our manufacturing process and as such we’re committed to ensuring our use of it is as responsible as possible.” The recycled aluminium is being put through its paces by Brunel University scientists, who have conducted strength tests and graded its purity to ensure it meets the required mechanical standards to be used in body panels right across the Jaguar and Land Rover ranges.
HYDRO AND VAAN LAUNCH WORLD’S FIRST RECYCLABLE LUXURY YACHT The Vaan R4 is a catamaran made almost entirely of circular materials, including recycled aluminium from Hydro. “One of the biggest industry challenges today is that many of the products designed and produced are too difficult or expensive to take apart and recycle when they are no longer in use. We are proud to work with a visionary company like Vaan to address these challenges, and to contribute to the first recyclable yacht, which is built with our 75 percent recycled aluminium,” says Aluminium International Today
Marijn Rietveld, Director Offshore and Marine in Hydro. The new yacht addresses one of the biggest challenges of modern production: How to make sustainable products. In the leisure boat industry, few boats are recycled when they are no longer in use. Every year, 78,000 boats are scrapped and burned in in Europe, causing large CO2 emissions. Less than three percent are being dismantled. The Vaan yacht is made from circular materials that can be re-
cycled when it is no longer in use. A key material in the Vaan R4 is the Hydro 75R alloy, made of minimum
75 percent recycled post-consumer metal, which is now used at sea for the first time.
INDUSTRY NEWS 9
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TRIMET PUTS NEW RECYCLING FURNACE INTO OPERATION With a capacity of around 40 tons, the new furnace will be replacing two of the three existing systems. The TRIMET Executive Board, headed by Chairman Philipp Schlüter, Plant Manager Jens Meinecke and the employees of TRIMET’s Gelsenkirchen plant ceremoniously put the new system into operation this Friday. “Around 90 percent of the aluminium in circulation is recycled, and the total quantity of recycled light metal continues to increase as a result of increasing demand. So it is only logical for us to consistently invest in expanding our capacities and modernizing our plants,” said Philipp Schlüter, Chairman of the Executive Board of TRIMET Aluminium SE.
The new rotary furnace significantly increases remelting capacities at the TRIMET plant in Gelsenkirchen. Along with its installation, the infrastructure and exhaust system of the secondary smelter were modernized and expanded. “The employees have put their heart and soul into the planning and remodeling with a great deal of flexibility. We are proud of this, because only in this way could everything be carried out smoothly without interrupting operations. At the same time, we are all happy that we can now concentrate fully on remelting aluminium scrap into high-quality products,” said Jens Meinecke, head of TRIMET’s Gelsenkirchen plant.
The furnace has a self-controlling burner system that switches between oxygen and air during the production of the fuel mixture, depending on requirements. This not only significantly reduces energy consumption, it also increases the proportion of recycled metal. In addition, the furnace is equipped with intelligent charging technology, which enables faster filling and can process larger quantities of material per smelting process. At the TRIMET plant in Gelsenkirchen, around 100 employees produce standard alloys and customer-specific special alloys from recycled aluminium. Most of the scrap comes from customers in the
region. The aluminium recycled without any loss of quality is often delivered to them for further processing in vehicle construction applications or in the electrical and machine-building industry.
RECYCLED ALLOY RESEARCH High-strength aluminium alloys produced from completely recycled metals could be developed as a result of a UK-led research partnership. Aluminium production consumes 3.5 per cent of the world’s electricity supply, while producing one per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. However, the metal is theoretically infinitely recyclable, with its recycling consuming just five per cent of the energy needed to produce the metal in the first place. Over one billion tonnes of aluminium has been produced since 1908, of which over 75 per cent remains as accessible stock. Now, in a bid to reach a full circle aluminium use and recycling system, researchers at the Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST) at Brunel University, working with Netherlands-based aluminium products manufacturer Constellium, have established a Aluminium International Today
strategic research partnership. The partnership will develop high performance aluminium alloys, and investigate their applications in lightweight vehicle construction, according to Prof Zhongyun Fan, project
particularly in the transport industry. However, even with the reduced weight offered by aluminium car components, a vehicle must be run for 10,000 miles before it becomes effective in reducing carbon dioxide
leader and director of BCAST. Aluminium alloys have a range of benefits including low density, high strength, and high corrosion resistance. As a result, demand for aluminium products is increasing,
emissions, said Fan. That is because the process of mining and producing aluminium is extremely energy-intensive, he said. “But if you use recycled aluminium, from day one you are reducing
carbon dioxide emissions,” he said. The STEP (Strain Enhanced Precipitation) project will develop a new generation of alloys with ultra-high strength – approximately twice that of conventional aluminium alloys – as well as good ductility, high crashworthiness and high thermal conductivity. The researchers will use a combination of production techniques, including deformation, and a reduction in the crystal size of the alloys developed, to increase the overall strength of the metal, said Fan. The researchers also plan to develop a novel melt conditioned direct chill (MC-DC) casting process, in which liquid metal is intensively sheared before solidification. The MC-DC casting process produces aluminium feedstock with much higher quality. “It has much finer crystals, resulting in higher strength and making it easier to process later on,” said Fan.
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RUSAL: SUSTAINABLE EFFORTS RUSAL has announced an ambitious pledge to plant over one million trees in Russia as part of its climate strategy aimed at reducing the Company’s carbon footprint. The initiative represents Russia’s largest ever forest restoration project. During the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, the Company signed an agreement to plant the trees with the Federal Forestry Agency and the Government of the Krasnoyarsk Territory as part of a voluntary project aimed at reducing carbon emissions. The initiative will see 500,000 trees planted over an area of 120 hectares in the Krasnoyarsk region and a forest protection scheme for the Lower Yenisei forestry will be established. An Aerial Forest Protection Service will oversee an area of more than 500,000 hectares and will carry out extensive monitoring of the forests to minimise the risk of fires and illegal logging. An additional 500,000 trees will be planted by RUSAL in other regions later this year. RUSAL’s forestry program contributes to the UN’s target to restore 350m hectares of forests around the world by 2030 in response to the damaging effects of climate change. While the rate of global deforest-
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ation has slowed by more than half since the early 1990s, individual tree loss has increased by 50% in recent years. Newly planted trees need up to 13 years to reach maximum CO2 absorption levels, meaning that the ongoing protection of existing and new forests is essential to ensure that the world can benefit from the reduction in harmful greenhouse gases that forests provide. Setting out RUSAL’s commitment, Evgenii Nikitin, RUSAL CEO said: "The issue of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most pressing challenges facing the modern world. The carbon footprint of our products is already one of the lowest in the industry, however, there is always more we can do and in the long term, we intend to offset the greenhouse gas emissions that make up the full carbon footprint of RUSAL’s primary aluminium products. This ambitious initiative to restore and protect Russia’s forests, combined with our existing equipment modernisation programs, will help us achieve this goal, whilst giving more people the chance to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits that forests provide.” RUSAL is one of the global industry leaders in the production of low-carbon aluminium. More than 90% of the Company's metal is pro-
duced using environmentally friendly hydropower plants, which eliminates harmful emissions, and the Company is focused on continually improving this statistic. Implementation of the carbon-free technology for the production of aluminium using inert anodes, which is a revolutionary project for the aluminium industry, is now at an advanced stage. In 2017, the Company presented its innovative new low-carbon aluminium brand - ALLOW. All metal produced under the ALLOW brand is certified and independently verified as being within the declared carbon footprint level, which is lower than 4t CO2/t Al, while the world average is currently approximately 12t CO2/t Al (including direct and indirect energy emissions from aluminium smelters). In addition, RUSAL is one of the founding members of the Climate Partnership of Russia and continues to be an active participant. The Climate Partnership of Russia brings together leading Russian companies that are interested in implementing projects focused on fighting the harmful effects of climate change and the development of low-carbon, eco-friendly technologies, as well as reducing the overall anthropogenic impact on our climate system.
Sustainability is an important issue for Sandvik and creates a ‘buzz’ for local bee population Sandvik has been ‘creating a buzz’ at its high pressure tubing manufacturing facility in Werther, Germany, with the installation of a colony of bees at the site. Occupying two hives, the Sandvik colony was established in 2017 in co-operation with the Peter-August-Böckstiegel-Gesamtschule and now exceeds 100,000 bees which produce enough honey to be given to customers visiting Sandvik. The project began with Thomas Froböse of Sandvik and Matthias Wach from the school who, along with his pupils, was already working on a gardening project, this was extended to include the Sandvik car park. All of the 300 sq metres of the new car park was transformed with new flowers and perennial herbs that were bee and insect friendly and later the hives were added. The bee hives are looked after by experienced bee keeper Matthias Wach and his pupils from the school. Haydn Eagle, Sales & Marketing Director at Sandvik High Precision Tube, said: “There has been a much publicized decline in the bee population in recent years which in turn has a damaging effect on the whole ecology system due to the lack of pollination. Much of this has been caused by fewer wildflower-rich habitats and the increased use of pesticides, which are very harmful to bees. “Creating and preserving a sustainable environment is part of our philosophy here at Sandvik and we thought that working with the local school to create a suitable environment for the bees to flourish would go some way to helping the bee population.”
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ALLOW for a better future The aluminium industry is becoming greener and RUSAL is helping to lead the way There is no better time than the present to address the serious threat posed by climate change. The numbers are sobering, and it is no coincidence that 15 of the 16 warmest years on record have come since the turn of the new century. As the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported, urgent action is needed to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming, where damages could be irreversible as soon as 2030. The alarming reality of global warming is resulting in damage to fragile ecosystems and the species that need them, extending this critical situation to beyond being just harmful to humans. It is critically important that we take a coordinated global approach to drive the transition towards a carbon neutral global economy in a carbon-constrained world. Everyone must play their part in achieving Digital Edition - June 2019
this. For RUSAL, we are already playing our part and believe that the future of green aluminium is ALLOW, our low-carbon aluminium. Tied to this, as demand amongst consumers grows for more sustainable and environmentally friendly aluminium, RUSAL has seized the opportunity to utilise its unique access to clean, renewable hydropower to provide a product with low carbon footprint. The production of ALLOW creates a fraction of the emissions generated by coal based aluminium smelters, which are four to five times higher. 75% of aluminium is produced using electricity from fossil fuels. What’s more, in a world focused on limiting the adverse impacts of climate change, RUSAL’s ALLOW is independently verified and is traceable to a specific smelter. ALLOW represents a watershed
opportunity for the industry, encouraging companies that buy our aluminium to have better control about their environmental impacts across their entire supply-chain. ALLOW aluminium enables our customers to reduce the carbon footprint of their products, positively contributing to their own climate change strategy in a world where sustainability is the new foundation for global industrial policy. Everybody, but most importantly our precious planet, wins. Where did it all start? RUSAL’s culture is built around sustainability as we believe that protection of the environment and the reduction of CO2 emissions are of fundamental importance. We aspire to continue our environmental stewardship progress (RUSAL is currently a global aluminium leader with one of the Aluminium International Today
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lowest CO2 footprints in the industry), setting an ambitious, yet achievable goal of producing aluminium from at least 95% renewable hydropower or other carbon free power generation by 2025. Not all aluminium is equal. We are pleased that 90% of our aluminium production is sourced from clean hydropower, the only renewable power source that can deliver a stable, round the clock supply, robust enough to sufficiently power industrial facilities. Building on this, new hydropower generation solutions are more efficient, creating higher rates of power production using the same volumes of water. The ALLOW brand and its name represents both the heritage and future of RUSAL. The name embodies our corporate vision of reducing RUSAL’s environmental impact by combining two words, Aluminium and Low. As the world will need more aluminium for low carbon mobility, lighter vehicles, greener buildings, safe affordable packaging for food and drinks, and efficient energy grids from renewable sources, ALLOW is driving this movement towards greater sustainability. What is driving low-carbon aluminium demand? Automotive, packaging, consumer electronics, construction and cabling are the main sectors that will drive the shift to low-carbon aluminium. Automotive, because OEMs are fighting to lower their CO2 emissions. Packaging, because it gives consumers the confidence they rightly demand in relation to the provenance of everyday products. Consumer goods, as socially responsible consumers want to know that the product they choose reflects their values and helps maintain a low carbon footprint. Lastly, construction, because lowering the impact of urban cities on the environment is essential in the effort to successfully lower carbon emissions. By 2050, there will be 9.8 billion people on earth and two-thirds of those will be living in cities and towns, so we want to work together to reduce harmful emissions as effectively as possible. Automotive It is important to remember that it is not just emissions generated by heavy cars that rely on fossil fuels, but the emissions tied to the manufacturing process. For example, consumers are already demanding vehicles which they know will support a more sustainable future and ALLOW is playing a key role here. This can be seen in RUSAL’s joint project with Braidy Industries in Kentucky, USA to produce Aluminium International Today
flat rolled aluminium products for the US automotive industry. The Braidy Atlas project will have the lowest CO2 emissions facility for end-to-end manufacturing in North America. Lightweight aluminium vehicles have a 12.6% lower life cycle in terms of CO2 emissions compared to steel vehicles (typical value for segment C). Based on the findings of RUSAL’s study - low CO2 aluminium can further reduce these life cycle emissions to 17% compared to steel vehicles. This significant reduction in carbon payback from the ‘world average’ carbon footprint aluminium-intensive vehicle – by 54,900 km – means that low CO2 aluminium-intensive vehicles can
to play a pivotal role in moving the world towards more sustainable materials and reducing the impact of packaging on natural habitats and wildlife. Aluminium can be formed into packaging of any shape or size whilst maintaining its highly protective qualities. More so, aluminium foil, cans and other packaging materials can be fully recycled and reused an infinite number of times.
offset production inputs in less than one year of driving. Every kilogram of aluminium used in a car can typically generate savings of one kilogram to the overall weight of a vehicle. ALLOW reduces both the carbon emissions across the vehicle’s lifespan and the levels of emissions associated with making the aluminium materials.
justice commitments and the company’s environmental record. With hardline electronic and tech devices in particular, consumers want to know how all the products they come in to contact with will be recycled at the end of their useful lives. Through this increased demand from consumers for sustainable products which will ensure this end of life process will put as little pressure on the environment as possible, RUSAL’s ALLOW brand has a big part to play. 90% of RUSAL’s production capacity is powered by renewable hydropower to serve consumers who want “clean” quality products from the companies and brands they trust. ALLOW is produced at smelters with a CO2 footprint (scope 1&2) lower than 4t CO2 /t of aluminium – four to five times lower than the emissions generated by a coal power process and less than half that of aluminium produced with gas sources.
Packaging ALLOW taps into the growing market for sustainable, low-carbon aluminium cans, bottles and other packaging materials, especially for the food and beverage industries. We read every day about the shift to bio-degradable seals, foils and capsules and how important this is to both the consumer and corporations. Shockingly, every year roughly 12.7 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans, suffocating marine habitats and wildlife. What are we doing to fix this? Aluminium packaging is the sustainable alternative to single-use plastics and is therefore able
Consumer goods Today’s socially responsible consumers want to know that the product they choose reflects their values. Their view of sustainability takes into account fair labour practices, human rights, corporate social
Construction Urban centers are critical to successful Digital Edition - June 2019
14 FOCUS ON ALLOW
efforts in lowering carbon emissions and architects and engineers are already depending on aluminium to build highperforming, aesthetically beautiful buildings which also demonstrate their capacity for energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions. This is where ALLOW comes in. Aluminium is a critical component for eco-friendly buildings offering durability within a wide range of temperatures and climates, a high strength-to-weight ratio, and a capacity for weather resistance. It is the go-to metal for use in futuristic homes and major cultural centers and our investment in ALLOW has helped build homes, offices, hospitals and schools for the cities of the future. Lowcarbon ALLOW materials will contribute to the overall reduced carbon footprint of municipal buildings. Led by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the C40 network including New York and 90 other cities such as Cape Town, London, Bangkok and Sydney estimate that half of all carbon emissions in cities come from buildings and that ratio reaches up to 75% in some climates and countries. Municipal buildings with a low CO2 footprint don’t just reduce overall emissions, but they also set the standard for a wider community. According to C40, between now and 2050 similar investments in low-carbon infrastructure and climate resilience need Digital Edition - June 2019
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to reach USD$1 trillion to meet the Paris climate agreement targets for its cities and ALLOW is at the heart of this. ALLOW components used in buildings will perform for a minimum of 80 years, helping mayors, architects and planners accommodate exploding urban populations by 2050. Lowcarbon, certified ALLOW guarantees that investments made today will have a minimal climate impact in the future, whether for a municipal contract, private-sector corporate headquarters or residential homes. Only by working together can we drive the transition to a net-zero emissions carbon-neutral global economy. The future is ALLOW RUSAL knows that aluminium’s light weight, strength, thermal characteristics and easy, affordable access make it the metal of the future. What makes the material so special is that it is recyclable and by ensuring that RUSAL’s lowcarbon hydropower manufacturing keeps aluminium clean and green, ALLOW represents a genuinely climate-friendly solution. Sustainable aluminium should be the choice both for now and the future. ALLOW will be even more important moving forward as artists, engineers and other creatives are turning to aluminium
to make the 21st-century goods that people want, and markets across the world are opening up with access to new devices and designs. In the automotive industry, leading car producers have extensive scrap recovery programs, ensuring that none of the manufacturing material goes to waste within the plant site. Nearly all of the aluminium in an old or irreparably damaged vehicle is recycled as well. ALLOW closes the carbon emissions loop to a greater extent, with a metal that is built with renewable hydropower energy inputs and smart, low-impact RUSAL production technologies from the beginning of the production cycle. That’s especially key for the emerging markets of the future, as the percentage of overall CO2 emissions from transportation registers so much higher in the Global South. At the same time, the demographic trends for many of these countries show rapid growth in their urban centers and the opportunity to build a future on new technologies that will protect the climate. Sustainably-built devices and products are, in turn, building a sustainable future – and RUSAL is committed to serving these needs through ALLOW. We are playing our part. By working together can we drive the transition to a net-zero emissions, carbonneutral global economy. � Aluminium International Today
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16 ASSOCIATION UPDATE
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative on Demonstrating impact on the ground Digital Edition - June 2019
ne year on:
ASSOCIATION UPDATE 17 5
By Dr. Fiona Solomon, CEO, ASI & Thad Mermer, Communications Manager, ASI The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s (ASI) certification program was developed through an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process and is the only comprehensive voluntary sustainability standard initiative for the aluminium value chain. It is designed to drive responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium through uptake of the standards throughout the industry. More information at aluminium-stewardship.org. In the last AIT Sustainability Issue (April 2018), four months after launching the ASI Standards, we wrote about how the ASI Standards program was state-of-the-art among certification systems. In this article, one year on, we describe the progress made in key areas (e.g. certifications, membership, outreach, capacity building, indigenous peoples’ rights, program credibility, etc.) with a goal of providing an overall indication of the impact the ASI Standards have had to date. Certifications along the value chain ASI issued its first Performance Standard certification in April 2018 to Rio Tinto for their refining and smelting operations in Quebec, Canada and bauxite mining in Australia. At March 2019, 11 Performance Standard and 3 Chain of Custody Standard certifications have now been issued to ASI Members’ operations based in 10 countries, including China, with more to be announced soon. Taken together, the certifications cover all parts of the aluminium value chain (see Figure 1). Since at least one of the Chain of Custody certified companies is vertically integrated from the bauxite mine up to the casthouse, ASI Aluminium is now able to be sold on the market, meaning that the world’s first certified responsible aluminium can now be sourced for downstream use sectors. In November 2018, the first agreement to source ASI Aluminium was announced between ASI Members Rio Tinto and Nespresso . Supporting the certification process is ASI’s online assurance platform, elementAl, which underpins the entire certification workflow, starting from the self-assessment phase through to issuance of the certification. We currently also have nine accredited auditing firms that operate on all continents to audit all criteria of the ASI Standards. The ASI Secretariat provides
implementation support to members and auditors through elementAl, maintaining an active Help Desk and FAQ section. Supplementary support to members during the certification process can be accessed through 15 registered specialists that have been vetted for their expertise in human and labour rights, governance, climate change and biodiversity, and other key areas. Continued strong membership growth ASI has continued to gain support from the aluminium sector across the globe with membership increasing by nearly 50% since the launch of the ASI Standards in December 2017. At the time of writing, ASI has 83 members, of which more than half (55%) must seek certification for a part of their operations within two years of joining ASI. As noted above, 11 ASI Members have already attained certification. Outreach in key markets One key focus area we set in 2018 was to increase awareness of the ASI Standards in China using a two-pronged approach. First, we translated the ASI Standards and normative documentation into Chinese and created a Chinese-language portal on the ASI website where we also publish our ongoing outreach via newsletters, media releases and educationAl webinars. Going further, we established a local contact in Beijing that coordinates ASI’s activities and communications in China, including translating our outreach materials, organizing and supporting training sessions, as well as establishing and maintaining contact with Chinabased companies. The strategy has been successful in that one-quarter of new ASI Members over the past year are based in China, two of which have already attained ASI Certification. Translations of the core Standards documentation have also been undertaken in French, and further translations into Portuguese and German are under discussion. Tailored capacity building for Auditors and Members Recognizing that the needs of ASI Members and prospective accredited Digital Edition - June 2019
18 ASSOCIATION UPDATE
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ASI membership growth since January 2015
auditors are different, ASI has established two tailored e-learning streams. First, for ASI Members, we built-up our educationAl online learning platform with 12 fundamentAl webinars that provide a solid overview on the core elements of the ASI Standards and normative documentation. Supplementing these are eight conversationAl interviews, which provide anecdotal first-person insights into Members’ experiences with implementing of the ASI Standards and the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples. Second, for auditors, we recently launched a structured, 9-module online learning portal, which gives prospective auditors the required knowledge to successfully audit both ASI Standards, while providing the flexibility of timing to complete the course on their own schedule. Their learnings are supplemented with deep-dive webinars on topics such as biodiversity assessment or tested along the way with modulespecific quizzes. Once auditors have completed the course, they are eligible to write an online proctored exam. Both Members and auditors are also able to attend in-person training sessions that are planned throughout the year and in various locations. In 2018, over 100 persons participated at ASI in-person training sessions in 8 locations worldwide.
with Terms of Reference developed by the IPAF and agreed by the ASI Board included in the ASI Governance Handbook, so as to formally establish the role and purpose of the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum within ASI’s broader governance structure. Annual meetings of IPAF are convened by ASI in different locations each year, in partnership with local representatives. In 2018, more than 20 participants from eight countries came together in Suriname to share experiences and increase awareness and engagement in ASI’s work in the aluminium value chain. The 2019 IPAF meeting brought over 30 participants from 10 countries together in India for three days of training, site visits, experience sharing, and work program planning. IPAF representatives also participate in the ASI Standards Committee and attend the ASI Annual General Meetings to represent and share the views of Indigenous Peoples groups. Demonstrated credibility In December 2018, ASI was accepted as an associate member of the ISEAL Alliance. It
joins as an organisation whose system meets ISEAL’s entry level criteria in terms of scope, governance and practices. ASI’s associate membership in ISEAL reflects a commitment to credibility and facilitates its transition to full membership, where compliance is demonstrated against ISEAL’s internationally recognised Codes of Good Practice in standard-setting, assurance and impacts. ISEAL supports associate members through this process to join a distinguished group of full members that include Forest Stewardship Council, Fairtrade International and Marine Stewardship Council. Looking ahead to 2019 For 2019, ASI’s strategic plan aims to further cement ASI’s status as a fastgrowing and innovative certification system. One of the most important work areas currently under development is our Monitoring and Evaluation program, which will enable us to communicate on the change on the ground from implementation of the ASI Standards. To this end, we will launch in the second quarter of 2019 an “Impacts Dashboard” on our website with key performance indicators that will continually be expanded as new data becomes available. ASI’s vision is to maximise the contribution of aluminium to a sustainable society. We invite all interested stakeholders to join us on this journey. �
Strong ongoing multi-stakeholder engagement ASI continues to seek out and support opportunities for indigenous peoples, NGOs, industry associations and industry players to provide inputs into our Standards, practices and governance. In particular, the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) is a unique feature among sustainability certification systems. The IPAF is set out in the ASI Constitution, Digital Edition - June 2019
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20 CLIMATE CHANGE
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Rio Tinto launches climate change report Rio Tinto today published Our approach to climate change, which shows how the company plans to contribute to and leverage the transition to a low carbon future. The report uses recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) as a framework to assess the potential risks and opportunities of climate change and related policies. Rio Tinto chief executive officer J-S Jacques said, “Given our decision to strengthen our business and exit coal, we are now the only major mining company with a fossil-fuel-free portfolio, which means we are well-positioned to contribute to a low-carbon future. “The materials we produce, from infinitely recyclable aluminium to copper used in electrification to our higher grade iron ore product, all play a part in the transition to a low-carbon economy. “At Rio Tinto, we have reduced our emissions-intensity footprint by almost 30 per cent since 2008, putting us on track to beat our targets. Renewable energy is now used to produce nearly three-quarters of the electricity we use. “We are aware that we have more to consider on climate change and will work with partners such as the members of the Energy Transitions Commission, Alcoa and Apple, the World Bank and others, to look at further sustainable solutions that enable us to continue to generate profits and contribute to people, the planet and prosperity”. Rio Tinto has publicly acknowledged the reality of climate change since 2005, signed the Paris Pledge in support of the ambition and commitments set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015 and contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Digital Edition - June 2019
Development Goals. Andrew Gray, Director ESG & Stewardship, AustralianSuper and Member, Climate Action 100+, said “Last year Rio Tinto supported the recommendations of the TCFD and we welcome their first report under this structure. 2018 saw the company undertake technological breakthroughs in materials that have a key role in the low carbon transition. We are also encouraged that Rio Tinto has joined the Energy Transitions Commission which takes a multi-sector approach to hard-toabate sectors like steel”. James Bevan, CIO at charity specialist CCLA, said “2018 saw the completion of Rio Tinto’s strategic exit from coal. Over time the company will face other complex portfolio and operational choices, so it is useful to see initial quantification of the impact of the low carbon transition on different commodities. We look forward to reviewing Rio Tinto’s new targets and metrics for the 2020s: a critical part of the TCFD recommendations and investors’ collective Climate Action 100+ request for Paris alignment”. Climate risks and opportunities have formed part of Rio Tinto’s strategic thinking for over two decades. The company has outlined it will take action in four key areas: 1. Supply essential metals and minerals for the transition to a low-carbon economy 2. Reduce emissions from its own footprint 3. Identify and assess physical risk exposures 4. Partner to advance climate goals Supplying essential materials Policies and technologies that reduce emissions are expected to increase
demand for many of Rio Tinto’s products. Electric vehicles use up to six times as much copper as those with internal combustion engines; aluminium’s lightweight properties can reduce fuel use in trucks, cars and planes; and borates are used in energy-efficient building materials. Higher quality iron ore is in demand from customers, such as those in China, to reduce their environmental footprint. Reduce emissions from its own footprint Rio Tinto has consistently beaten its climate change goals since the business first set short-term and medium-term targets in 2008. The company has already reduced emissions intensity by almost 30 per cent from 2008 levels, putting it on track to beat its latest target of reducing emissions intensity by 24 per cent from 2008 levels by 2020. The company is working on targets for 2020 and beyond before current targets expire in 2020. Rio Tinto’s Our approach to climate change report outlines a variety of scenarios and abatement options to help the company achieve its goals and this work will be further refined as targets are set. Identify and address physical risk exposures Rio Tinto continues to take steps to manage its risks and increase the resilience of the business to climate change, as well as position itself for new opportunities. The company has a strong governance process in place and regularly reviews and refreshes its approach to climate change within the corporate strategy framework. Rio Tinto considers the exposure of each of its sites to physical risks related to Aluminium International Today
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climate change. The company also tests its portfolio against a range of scenarios mapping the policy and technology pathways necessary to limit global temperature rises. Rio Tinto’s analysis indicates that its business is relatively robust, including against a 2°C scenario, consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Partner to advance climate goals In 2018, Rio Tinto announced a new technology partnership with Alcoa,
with support from Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec, to further develop carbon-free aluminium smelting technology – an industry first. The company also joined the Energy Transitions Commission, the peak body aimed at supporting the transition to a low carbon economy for hard to abate sectors. Rio Tinto believes tackling climate change effectively will require a level playing field, not only across the mining industry, but across all industries and
jurisdictions. The transition will be best managed through partnership between government, business and society. �
The full report is available on our website. https://www.riotinto.com/documents/RT_Our_approach_to_climate_change_2018.pdf
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The impact on recycling of aluminium cans that use non-aluminium labels in the USA
Aluminium cans are among the most recycled products in the United States of America. Cans used for beverages – typically beer and soda – are key to the success of the recycling industry.
Digital Edition - June 2019
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A potential problem that is considered by some today to be minor may eventually turn out to be a bigger problem in the future. A problem that may directly impact the recycling of aluminium cans in the United States. The vast majority of aluminium cans appear to have labels printed directly on the cans. This is especially true for the soda industry and producers of large volumes of beer. Some aluminium cans, though, do not include labels printed directly on the cans. Instead, these cans have another non-aluminium product added to their exteriors. In some cases, this additional product is a sleeve made of plastic; in other cases, this additional product is a pressure-sensitive sticker made of plastic. The major difference between these two types of labels is that a plastic sleeve is typically shrink-wrapped around the entire can, while a pressure-sensitive sticker typically covers most, but not all of a can. The craft beer industry, in particular, has been making use of these additional non-aluminium products as labels for their beverages. The additional layer of plastic appears to have only a minor impact within the recycling industry today, primarily in the initial stage of recycling at material recovery facilities. Overall, though, the additional layer of plastic added to aluminium cans does not appear to be a major impediment to the recycling of aluminium cans at this time. In the future? That’s a real question that remains to be answered. Let’s start with why some businesses utilise these plastic labels. Economics plays the major role in the decisions to use non-aluminium labels on aluminium cans. In addition, some craft breweries view the non-aluminium labels as offering greater flexibility, versatility, and creativity in label designs. According to several leaders within the beer industry, there has been an increased demand by consumers for craft beer and an increase in demand for those craft beers to be available for purchase in lightweight aluminium cans. In the past 25 years, there has been substantial growth in the number of craft beer breweries in the United States. According to statistics from the Brewers Association, there were less than 1,000 regional craft breweries, microbreweries, and brewpubs throughout the nation in 1994. By 2018, there were more than 7,000 regional craft breweries, microbreweries, and brewpubs in the United States. To put these numbers in perspective, statistics from the Brewers Association Aluminium International Today
THE ALUMINA CHRONICLES 23 5 indicate that the number of large/noncraft beer breweries has also increased, but not at the same level as the smaller craft beer breweries. According to this organisation, there were 46 large/noncraft beer breweries in the United States in 2014; that number increased to 104 in 2018. “The Brewers Association is an organisation of brewers, for brewers and by brewers,” according to the organization’s website. “More than 5,036 U.S. brewery members and 46,000 members of the American Homebrewers Association are joined by members of the allied trade, beer wholesalers, retailers, individuals, other associate members and the Brewers Association staff to make up the Brewers Association.” “Small volume producers struggle to meet the minimum order requirements for pre-printed cans,” explained Mr. Paul Gatza, Senior Vice President of the Professional Brewing Division of the Brewers Association. “Challenges include capital investment as well adequate storage space for full orders. Craft brewers also utilise plastic sleeves to satisfy consumer demand for small batch seasonal or local products.” “Most craft breweries in the United States are modest in size,” stated Mr. Luke Truman, Facilities Manager at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, and a member of the Brewers Association Sustainability Sub-Committee. “The typical small craft brewery may produce about 600 barrels of beer each year. That total production may include a couple core brands and a few seasonal brews. Perhaps half of all of their beer production is consumed as draft beer. Some of the remaining beer is sold in glass bottles. As such, the demand for aluminium cans is modest for many of the individual craft breweries.” In the United States, each barrel of beer equates to 31 gallons of beer, according to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury. If a typical small craft brewery produces 600 barrels of beer annually, they are producing roughly 18,600 gallons of beer each year. If half of that is consumed as draft beer – served directly in a glass or a cup – that leaves about 9,300 gallons of beer that need to be packaged in bottles and/or cans. While the volume of beer packaged in aluminium cans may be small for a specific brand or an individual craft brewery, the overall demand for aluminium cans for craft brew has steadily increased because of the increase in the number of breweries and the increase in the number of individual brands of beer – all of which need specific labels.
Mr. Gatza confirmed that “The use of plastic sleeved aluminium cans is becoming more prevalent across a number of different beverage industries as the number of small producers increases.” “Small craft beer producers must deal with the dilemma that their needs don’t meet the minimum order requirements of many can manufacturers for pre-printed aluminium cans,” explained Mr. Truman. “It is not unusual for a brewery to be faced with a requirement to purchase a truckload of pre-printed aluminium cans all at one time.” A truckload of aluminium cans could include upwards of 150,000 to 200,000 cans, depending on the manufacturer, the size of the cans, the size of the truck, and how the cans are loaded within the truck. For some small craft breweries, a truckload of aluminium cans might represent several years’ worth of packaging for their beer production. “These minimum requirements create major problems for many in the craft beer industry,” Mr. Truman continued. “Most of the smaller producers don’t have the capital to make such large purchases of pre-printed cans all at one time and don’t have the space to store all of these preprinted cans. In addition, the lead time can be quite lengthy – sometimes, months – to order pre-printed aluminium cans.” “At a high level, we do not like doing sleeves or stickers on our cans,” stated Mr. Derek Detenber, Chief Marketing Officer at Artisanal Brewing Ventures in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The limiting factor is an industry wide factor. The can suppliers have really large minimum quantities for printed cans. Printed cans are better for consumers, much better from a line speed, and manufacturing process. We certainly prefer to have printed cans, but for small batch releases or for smaller breweries, it’s an issue that starts with the can suppliers.” Some in the craft brewing industry have found ways around these difficulties. “We do not use sleeves on our beer cans,” stated Mr. Jesse Claeys, Public Relations Coordinator at New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. “As part of our commitment to sustainability, we would never release a package type that would have difficulty entering the recycle stream and/or be rejected by recycling centres.” According to the Brewers Association “annual list of the top producing craft brewing companies and overall brewing companies in the United States, based on beer sales volume” for 2018, New Belgium Brewing Company is � the 4th largest craft brewing company in the United States and � the 11th largest brewing company overall in the nation; Digital Edition - June 2019
24 THE ALUMINA CHRONICLES
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Fig 1. Fat Tire, a beer brand of New Belgium Brewing Company, uses aluminium cans with artwork printed directly on the cans. This specific craft brewing company does not utilise plastic sleeves or pressure-sensitive stickers on its aluminium cans. (Photograph is provided courtesy of New Belgium Brewing Company.)
Artisanal Brewing Ventures is � the 11th largest craft company and � the 20th largest brewing overall; and Allagash Brewing Company is � the 30th largest craft company and � the 40th largest brewing overall.
brewing company brewing company
Fat Tire, a beer brand of New Belgium Brewing Company, uses aluminium cans with artwork printed directly on the cans. This specific craft brewing company does not utilise plastic sleeves or pressuresensitive stickers on its aluminium cans (Fig 1). “Shrink-sleeved cans are indeed problematic,” stated Mr. Scott Mouw, Senior Director of Strategy and Research at The Recycling Partnership. Problems have developed, for example, at some material recovery facilities (MRFs) as they strive to separate aluminium cans from other recyclable items as well as contaminated products that need to be landfilled. Recycling aluminium cans with plastic sleeves and pressure-sensitive sticker labels sometimes impacts other types of plastic being recycled. “A large PET reclaimer [explained]...that shrink sleeves can ruin their batches too,” stated Ms. Beth Schmitt, Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships at The Recycling Partnership. “PVC is viewed as a contaminant in development of FDA-grade PET – so it’s not just cans, since a few of these cans get mixed into bales of PET coming through their system.” Digital Edition - June 2019
“I’ve heard from some MRFs that the PET sleeve is incorrectly pulled out by PET opticals,” stated Ms. Megan Daum, Senior Director of Sustainability at the American Beverage Association. In addition, Ms. Daum stated that some MRFs “do not like these sleeves both because there’s the risk of them getting baled incorrectly and also because they affect their pricing on the backend. The weight of the sleeve is significant so, when you’re buying a bale of cans with these sleeves, your numbers for how much aluminium you’re getting are skewed.” Overall, though, Ms. Daum indicated that she has “also heard that this [the use of non-aluminium labels on aluminium cans] is in small enough numbers [at this time] that it’s not a problem.” That is even more likely in the ten states that have container deposit laws, according to Mr. Truman of Allagash Brewing Company and the Brewers Association Sustainability Sub-Committee. “The volume of all aluminium cans being recycled is higher in these redemption states,” stated Mr. Truman. “The impact of the volume of aluminium cans with plastic sleeves and pressure-sensitive labels is thus likely reduced in those states.” One potential solution – having consumers remove the non-aluminium labels from aluminium cans prior to recycling the aluminium cans, for example – would likely not work well in those ten states with container deposit laws. That’s because, typically, a consumer has to prove that the aluminium cans being brought to the redemption centres were purchased in that specific state. Removing the label in advance means that many
consumers would not be able to retrieve their container deposits. After sorting is done at redemption centres and at material recovery facilities, aluminium cans are then sent on to businesses that melt the aluminium cans to create new sheets of aluminium and new aluminium products, including new aluminium cans. The use of plastic labels on aluminium cans does not stop those aluminium cans from being recycled, according to Mr. Scott McCarty, Director of Strategic Communications at Ball Beverage Packaging North & Central America. “Ball Corporation is a provider of metal packaging for beverages, foods and household products, and of aerospace and other technologies and services to commercial and governmental customers,” according to the firm’s website. Mr. McCarty indicated that the plastic sleeves simply “burn off” as the aluminium cans are melted, and at the current volume of aluminium cans with plastic labels, this does not create a fire hazard. “Sleeves are typically used when the order volume is very small and the brand cannot use properly printed cans because their order size does not meet the minimum volume,” stated Mr. McCarty. “Once these brands become bigger, we expect them to switch to regular printed cans. Sleeved cans, as long as their concentration is not overwhelming, can be treated by existing technology at remelting plants – in many cases they have a shredding and delacquering stage before the aluminium gets to the furnace – so the sleeve is burned off and does not affect the recyclability of the can.” Aluminium International Today
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Novelis recycles bales of crushed aluminium cans, seen in Fig 2a, into aluminium sheets, in Fig 2b, that are then utilised to create new aluminium products, including new aluminium cans. “At this point, the sleeves are such a small portion of the market that we are monitoring the issue and will react if and when this becomes more significant,” stated Mr. Michael Touhill, spokesperson for Novelis. This firm “is the largest producer of aluminium beverage can sheet and the world’s largest recycler of used beverage cans (UBCs), recycling roughly 70 billion UBCs each year.” “The aluminium cans with these sleeves can be recycled,” continued Mr. Touhill. “And we support beverage companies that are choosing to use the most sustainable beverage packaging available – infinitely recyclable aluminium.” The actual impact on the aluminium recycling industry of the use of nonaluminium labels on aluminium cans is limited, thus far. Whether that will continue to be the case is currently seen more through informal impressions rather than full research studies. “[We are] aware of anecdotal reports of plastic sleeves affecting automated sorting systems in material recovery facilities, but is not aware of any published reports or data addressing the issue,” stated Mr. Gatza of the Brewers Association. “Similarly, Brewers Association has heard anecdotal reports of decreased value of recycled aluminium due to plastic contamination, but is not aware of any published reports.” There are some studies underway to determine the actual impact on the aluminium recycling industry. “Brewers Association is aware of separate coalitions in Colorado and New England that are gathering information to help understand the issue,” continued Mr. Gatza. “With the lack of data on this relatively new issue, it is difficult to make an informed answer to the question [about the impact on recycling in the future if the plastic sleeves become utilised even more].”
2a Figs 2. Novelis recycles bales of crushed aluminium cans, above, into aluminium sheets, below, that are then utilised to create new aluminium products, including new aluminium cans. (Photos are provided courtesy of Novelis.)
2b
A study on the use of non-aluminium labels on aluminium cans is also underway, according to Mr. Truman of Allagash Brewing Company and the Brewers
Association Sustainability Sub-Committee, at the Sustainable Business Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. �
Do you have questions about the aluminum industry? Governmental regulations? Company operations? Your questions may be used in a future news column. Contact Richard McDonough at aluminachronicles@gmail.com. © 2019 Richard McDonough
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Digital Edition - June 2019
26 Q&A FURNACE & HEAT TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY
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A new generation of networking Nadine Bloxsome* spoke to Tim Bryant** about the introduction of Furnace & Heat Treatment Technology USA, a new event aimed at bringing the industry together. time with peers in an information rich environment supported by high levels of organisation, 5 star accommodation and fine food. This actually makes an intense couple of days feel strangely relaxed.
Q.What is the aim for Furnace & Heat Treatment Technology USA? A. In short, to deliver a progressive event experience to a senior audience in an exclusive environment. Senior decision makers are busy people and, from our experience of delivering this tailored event format in other markets, the opportunity to condense relevant information that could otherwise take months to collate into just 1.5 days makes for a highly efficient use of time and future decision making intelligence. Our aim is to become the go-to source of information, ideas, collaboration and connections for senior players in this industry. Q. What can Delegates expect? A. Firstly, relevance. To be able to deliver relevant information, the event model is in turn based on information. All attendees are asked to contribute detailed information about their business, key challenges and upcoming projects at registration. This allows us to build an individual itinerary of relevant educational content and solution provider research meetings for each person. Itineraries are approved pre-event leading to a clear on-site schedule. The schedule includes various networking activities which provide a further opportunity for dialogue in a more relaxed atmosphere. Ultimately, Delegates are spending
Q. How does it differ from other events in this sector? A. Most events are important, providing the opportunity for live interaction to compliment digital interaction. Our main points of difference are the exclusivity and pre-event organisation. This is an opportunity for a senior audience to hear from experts and benchmark with their peer group which creates a great platform for ideas and future thinking. Other points of difference include the curation and environment as described earlier, and the visual simplicity. For example, Exhibitors are a vital aspect of the event because they are the innovators in the supply chain, but, rather than having an expo hall of exhibits, this aspect of the event is discrete and designed for direct dialogue with Delegates who have a pre-established interest in their products and solutions. Q. What are the main topics that will be covered? A. Following the theme of stimulation through information, the education programme offers a mix of future thinking, critical considerations and case study context. Top line topics include The Furnace of the Future, Emerging Technologies, Dealing with Data, Furnace Automation, Upgrades & Retrofitting, Safety Fundamentals, Cyber Security and CO2 efficiencies. The call for papers is open, so if you are reading this and you would like to contribute, please go online and submit the Call for Papers form. Q. How important is a networking event like this for the industry?
A. As organisers, we can only work hard to set the scene, but when we receive feedback from senior Delegates telling about how their caution to take time out of the office was dispelled by the absolute value of the experience, this type of event becomes important. “An opportunity for us to raise the bar” is one of my favourite quotes and tells us that we are doing a good job. Q. What opportunities are there for furnace manufacturers and suppliers to be involved? A. We have a variety of all-inclusive Exhibitor meeting packages available, all of which involve direct dialogue through 25 minute meetings with decision makers face to face as well as attending the event networking functions. Delegates come with the intention of spending 25% of their event time researching solutions that are relevant to their projects which makes the event a very tailored and cost efficient marketing opportunity. Q. When and where? A. 17-19 November at the luxurious JW Marriot Turnberry Resort & Spa just outside Miami. Miami airport is a North American hub as well as being good for South and Central American travel connections. It is also a good opportunity for early winter warmth. The venue has excellent conference facilities in addition to being home to two fantastic PGA golf courses. So, for those who would like to enjoy a round before or after the event, we have negotiated discounted green fees, which we will happily co-ordinate for you. There is also the opportunity for meeting rooms to be arranged for delegates to use the event for a team catch up or general use of the venue facilities for those who would like to make more of their stay. Spouses are welcome! �
*Editor, Furnaces International **Event Director, Furnace & Heat Treatment Technology www.furnace-summit-usa.com Digital Edition - June 2019
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Information, Research, Relationships Furnace & Heat Treatment Technology USA brings together industry experts, senior decision makers and leading industry solution providers to collaborate for progress. The event format is highly effective, providing a peer led education programme, face-to-face research meetings and a variety of informal networking opportunities.
Turnberry Resort & Spa Miami, Florida 17-19 November, 2019
Our invitation only approach allows us to provide a high value and time efficient event experience To confirm your place, visit: www.furnace-summit-usa.com The Furnace & Heat Treatment Technology Summit series is organised by Quartz Ridge Events, RIDGE EVENTS
a division of Quartz Business Media, and specialising in organising senior level, itinerary led events.
28 RECYCLING
Aluminium cans as a source of By Anna Sapota*
The aluminium can is one of the products which are a source of aluminium scrap. It is also one of the sources which originate directly from the consumer and not from the production process. Obtaining such scrap means that large quantities of used aluminium are returned to the production cycle and the life-cycle of the aluminium can is closed. In order to properly understand the issue, let us begin with a global look at the aluminium market, and the scale at which used beverage cans (‘UBC’) are used as a secondary source of aluminium. Approximately 37 per cent of total aluminium production in the world is Digital Edition - June 2019
secondary aluminium, which has been remelted (i.e. recycled). Over the course of 100 years, the industrial use of aluminium increased from approx. 6,000 tonnes in 1900 to approx. 95 million tonnes in 2013, of which secondary aluminium constitutes approximately 37 per cent2. At this point, a question arises: why do we want to, or should, use secondary aluminium? For the purpose of this text, I will focus on the important reasons why secondary aluminium is used to produce metal sheets for the manufacture of aluminium beverage cans. There are several reasons why using secondary aluminium is worthwhile: technical,
economic, environmental, and legal (legislative). These benefits are off-set by one key limitation: ultimately, it is up to the manufacturer to whether to use secondary or virgin materials to make aluminum sheets. With regards to technical limitations, there are two issues to consider: the possibility to melt the scrap (in this case, UBC) into the aluminium alloy required to manufacture a specific product, as well as the quality of this scrap. As for the first question, what matters is the composition of the alloy as well as the possibility of preserving its physicochemical properties when melting. From this perspective, Aluminium International Today
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end user’s scrap
1
we can consider the alloy used for the manufacture of aluminium cans, i.e. series 3XXX and 5XXX, to be recycling-friendly. It is clear that the physical properties are both a strength and a weakness of aluminium as a raw material. On the one hand, once it is extracted and melted, aluminium becomes a permanent material3. On the other, every alloy has its own properties and can be repurposed to differing degrees. As for the quality of scrap, it is necessary to consider contamination, including organic contamination, the addition of other elements, as well as humidity. The higher the contamination, the higher the expenditure of energy and Aluminium International Today
cost associated with treating the material, and adding primary aluminium into the melted material in order to maintain the properties of the end product. With regards to economic questions, the first ones to consider are the availability and the price of the material. Depending on availability and the difference between
the prices of UBC and primary aluminium, the demand for aluminium sheets with a high content of secondary aluminium varies. The availability of UBC in the market, which at present can be described as global, depends on a number of factors. On the one hand, one can point to consumer habits as well as household waste management systems in specific countries (this is the waste stream in which UBC are found). On the other, due to the globalisation of the market, international legislation plays a major part: the availability of UBC in the market can be increased or decreased by the presence, or lack, of barriers in the form Digital Edition - June 2019
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of duties or taxes associated with the international UBC trade, regulations on the transboundary movement of waste and the limitations imposed by them. At the same time, the price of primary aluminium at the LME and the associated price of secondary aluminium will be the key determinant for customers. Another economic factor is customer demand as well as customers’ marketing strategies. One cannot ignore the fact that the customer’s approach and their possible request to use recycled aluminium can be the economic factor driving the use of UBC in the manufacture of aluminium. Such a request can be a consequence of the customer’s own policy for minimising the environmental impact of their business operations, or of the expectations of the end consumer who expects that certain environmental demands will be fulfilled by the supplier of the purchased goods. With regards to environmental questions, several aspects need to be considered: production waste in the melting of secondary aluminium (solid waste in the form of dross/salt slag), emissions with a potentially high level of organic particles, the melting technology, and the associated quality requirements. The necessity to check, dispose of or reuse the resulting waste impacts the attractiveness of secondary aluminium as a raw material. Most importantly, however, one should consider the fact that using secondary aluminium and remelting it requires only 5-8 per cent of the energy expenditure required for melting primary aluminium4. As a result, the primary environmental impact of a product made from secondary aluminium is significantly smaller than that of a product from primary aluminium with respect to the production of aluminium sheets for the manufacture of aluminium cans). In recent years, the legal (or legislative) aspect of using secondary raw materials has come into more prominence. The idea of a circular economy, which is being implemented more and more extensively in the EU member states and other countries, is a factor in favour of recycling. As a result, formal level legal acts are being created to encourage, or even enforce, the use of secondary aluminium. More importantly, they address not only the requirements imposed on businesses/manufacturers
but also those imposed on consumers, which serves to increase the awareness of the positive effects of recycling is to help increase available material quantity and quality (implementation and improvement of separate collection of recyclable waste). At the same time, the legal restrictions on the use of plastics in packaging can lead to an increased interest in packaging made from other materials, which is where the use of aluminium as a permanent material has an enormous potential. Moving on to a more detailed analysis of the UBC market and the role of specific entities within the supply chain, one should provide some information on the can market itself. It is estimated that currently over 300 billion cans are consumed each year, of which nearly one third are used in the US, 55 billion in Europe, 21 billion in Brazil, while in Poland 4-5 billion5. The can manufacturing market looks similar6. This needs to be overlaid with global recycling levels. Thus, the global recycling level is approx. 75 per cent, but results vary from over a dozen per cent in countries with poorly organised collection systems, to 97 per cent in Brazil. Against this background, Europe looks rather good with over 70 per cent level of aluminium can recycling, while Poland looks even better with over 80 per cent in 20167. This differentiation shows how much depends on the specific waste management system and the scope of responsibility taken on by the individual stakeholders in a given market. The entire waste management system - in this case, mostly household waste - impacts the management of UBC. As an example of stakeholders’ initiative and positive influence on the waste management system we can look to the Polish UBC collection system. In Poland for 20 years there have been two manufacturers of aluminium beverage cans who feel responsible for their product and its recycling or reuse. Thus, already in 1995 the CANPACK Group (one of these producers) initiated a recycling programme for UBC8 which became a separate collection system for aluminium packaging. The KOBA S.A. [Inc.] company was incorporated; today, as CP Recykling Organizacja Odzysku Opakowan S.A. [Inc.], it organises the collection and recycling of UBC via a network of recovery facilities across
Poland. Other manufacturer of aluminium beverage cans operate in a similar manner, enabling a system for separate collection, treatment, and recycling of the abovementioned 80 per cent of UBC in Poland. In consequence, for over 20 years the aluminium can industry has not only delivered a product to market but also provided the opportunity to recycle the cans after use. It is worthwhile to note two aspects of this activity - firstly, creating a real opportunity to return the UBC in a separate manner; secondly, increasing consumer awareness about the aluminium can and its recyclability. With regards to the former, the used can’s value played a key part, i.e. a can was more valuable when collected separately than when returned with other metal (or even other types of aluminium scrap). With regards to the latter, the broadly understood industry (including manufacturers of aluminium sheet and canned beverages) has invested in programmes and activities to increase consumer awareness about aluminium cans, the properties of aluminium, and recycling possibilities. One example is the “Every Can Counts” programme9 in Europe, which for two years has also been operating in Poland. Applying only these two types of activities and two (very different) ways of stimulating the market translates to a high level of recycling of UBC in Poland as well as a good quality of the obtained UBC. To summarise the above remarks, the question which needs to be answered is about the role of UBC as a source of aluminium. On the one hand, it is a recycling-friendly alloy and reprocessing it does not pose a technological challenge. On the other, UBC comes with risks associated with its origin, i.e. quality challenges, stability, quantity of obtained material as well as remelting it into not simply any aluminium product, but again into a beverage can, which enables to take full advantage of the primary alloy and minimise the impact on the environment. For this to be achieved, one needs to establish the following objectives: achieve a high level of consumer awareness about the properties of aluminium as a permanent material and the possibility to recycle the beverage can multiple times; consequently, achieve a 100% level of UBC recycling, closing the product life-cycle within the economy10. �
1.This article has been prepared on the basis of a presentation of
3.European Aluminum Association, Aluminum Recycling in
7.Data of the recal foundation: www.recal.pl.
the same title given by the author on March 27, 2019, during the
Europe. The Road to High Quality Products, 2004, p. 7.
8. ACRS – Aluminium Can Recycling System.
15th International Aluminium Recycling Congress.
4. European Aluminium Association, Aluminum Recycling in
9. www.everycancounts.pl
2.Idem; G. Liu, D.B. Müller, Mapping the Global Journey of
Europe. The Road to High Quality Products, 2004, p. 13.
10. In an efficient waste management system, the aluminium
Anthropogenic Aluminium: A Trade-Linked Multilevel Material
5. Source: Global Data.
beverage can is able to complete a full life-cycle within 60 days.
Flow Analysis, Environmental Science & Technology, 2013, 47, pp.
6. US: over 100 billion cans per year, Europe: 64 billion, Brazil: 21
11873-11881.
billion, Poland: 5 billion.
Digital Edition - June 2019
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D e v el o pi n g t h e P o w d er M et all ur g y F ut ur e
e ur o p e a n p o w d er m et all u r g y a s s o ci ati o n
I n t e r n a ti o n al C o n g r e s s & E x hi bi ti o n 1 3 – 1 6 O ct o b e r 2 0 1 9 M a astri c ht E x hi biti o n & C o n gr ess C e ntr e ( M E C C), M a astri c ht, T h e N et h erl a n ds
w w w. e ur o p m 2 0 1 9. c o m
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Metal recycling:
The single-shaft shredder M600/1 is particularly suitable for precise material reduction in a single operation, since the material is gathered using the proven rotor-stator cutting principle, delivering it to the cutting rotor where it is reduced by the stator knife until it has reached the desired size. Source: ERDWICH Zerkleinerungs-Systeme GmbH
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Shredding of large parts enables cost reductions through prompt remelting Recycling expert exhibits for the first time at GIFA in Düsseldorf.
For the most efficient use of raw materials in the production process, the processing of reject materials and by-products of the foundry and machining industries is increasingly gaining in importance. The goal is the fastest possible recycling of the metal in the production process, thus avoiding the high costs involved in temporary storage and keeping the space required to a minimum. However, before the cast elements, swarf and metal shavings can be remelted, they must be reduced in size to ensure optimum melting. The recycling experts at ERDWICH Zerkleinerungs-Systeme GmbH are presenting two solutions from their portfolio at this year’s GIFA in Düsseldorf, namely the RM1350/2 twin-shaft ripper and the M600/1 single-shaft shredder, with which this pretreatment can be carried out.
In aluminium foundries in particular, large quantities of punching waste, flashings or defective castings are created in the daily production, which are then collected, recycled and melted down again. Especially in view of rising commodity prices, it is in the interest of companies that the return of waste material to the production process takes place as quickly and efficiently as possible. Since many parts are bulky and unwieldy, they must be broken down before remelting. The machine for the rough stuff With the coarse shredder RM1350/2, ERDWICH Zerkleinerungs-Systeme GmbH offers the ideal machine for this task. Depending on the application, the length of the cutting gear varies from 1,500 to 2,500 mm. The width is 1,350 mm but can also be customized. The knives of
the cutting gear made of wear-resistant special steel are individually inserted, so that different sequences of types of cut are possible depending on the material to be shredded. The cutting tools are easily accessible and can be exchanged individually if required or be installed so as to be welded directly into place. Depending on the field of application, drives of various capacities, from 45 kW to 132 kW, are available. The two motors of the twin-shaft rotor shredder system from ERDWICH are each equipped with an energy-efficient frequency converter so that the shafts can be controlled independently of each other. In addition to the high-performance electromechanical transmissions, the throughput capacity is enhanced by the possibility of alternately driving the shafts both forward and reverse. The PLC control with reversing and
The blade size of the RM1350/2 is available in various length from 1,500 to 2,500 mm, depending on the application. The width is 1,350 mm but can also be customized. Source: ERDWICH Zerkleinerungs-Systeme GmbH
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With the ripp1350/2 coarse shredder, ERDWICH offers the ideal machine for the shredding of punching waste, flashings or defective castings, which arise daily in aluminium foundries. Source: ERDWICH Zerkleinerungs-Systeme GmbH
automatic switch-off protection, specially designed for this purpose, protects the machine against damage caused by overloading or bulky solid parts that have become jammed. Using the RM1350/2, for example, the volume of castings can be reduced by 50 to 60 per cent. M600/1 for finer material processing ERDWICH presents the M600/1 for the finer shredding of smaller castings and metal swarf. The single-shaft shredder is particularly suitable for precise shredding
in a single process, since the material is gathered using the proven rotor-stator cutting principle, delivering it to the cutting rotor where it is reduced by the stator knife until it has reached the desired size. This can be discharged through the sieve integrated below it, enabling the precise definition of the grading of the materials thus reduced. Here also, the M600/1 has fully hardened blades, which can be reground several times, ensuring a long service life.
The single shaft shredder is available with two different sizes of cutting gear of 400 x 500 mm or 600 x 500 mm (LxW) and with a drive power of between 5.5 and 9.2 kW. In addition, there are further models with other shaft lengths. The M600/1 and the cutting gear of the RM1350/2 will be presented by ERDWICH at this year’s GIFA in Düsseldorf. Managing Director Harald Erdwich and his colleagues are available for initial discussions and specific inquiries in Hall 16, Booth 16E25.�
Visit Erdwich: Hall 16, Booth 16E25 Further information: www.erdwich.com Digital Edition - June 2019
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“REUSA
Standardising recyclabili “DURABILITY”
By Melanie Williams
Aluminium has a good case to make for a prominent place in both the circular and low carbon economies. Recycling is the focus of the circular economy, and an extensive recycling infrastructure for aluminium packaging is already in place. European Directives to implement the circular economy are currently being developed or updated, with new obligations and targets, which will affect how local authorities collect, sort and treat waste. These developments will also influence companies when they choose materials for their products and packaging. The European Commission has recently reported on the implementation of its Circular Economy Action Plan. Progress on execution of the fifty-four actions in the original plan, is described. Significantly, European Standardisation organisations are playing a key role. Twelve new European Standards are expected by March 2020. They will develop criteria to measure ‘durability, reusability, reparability and recyclability’ for both products and their raw materials. The criteria will be applied to both new and existing standards. Standardisation organisations such as CEN (European Committee for
Standardisation) are often thought of as slow moving bodies, wading through the minutiae of technical detail. But their decisions have far reaching consequences when incorporated into European regulation. The EN Standards, as they are known, also spread European influence throughout the world, as manufacturers adopt them for products to sell into both European and international markets. CEN Technical Committees (TCs) will now be deciding on a number of key concepts, which could influence a manufacturer’s choice of materials, particularly for single use items. Industry can influence the content of Standards by becoming observers to the TCs to put their point of view to the committee members who are representatives from national standardisation organisations. A Standard entitled ‘General method for assessing the proportion of recycled material content in energy related products’ (PrEN 45557:2019) is under development . It has sections exemplifying calculations of recycled content for glass, metals and plastics. If targets for recycled content are to be written into regulation, then definitions are important. Aluminium
packaging has been assigned a target of 60 % recycled content. For metals, both post-consumer, end-of-life waste and some categories of pre-consumer waste are defined as recycled content. But scrap fed back into the same process from which it was generated is currently excluded. Recycling plastic is particularly challenging. The plastics industry will be pleased that most chemically recycled plastic will be treated as recycled content. This refers to the process of breaking down mixed waste plastic into its original monomers, which are then repolymerised back to the original
ASI Registered Specialist, www.melaniewilliamsconsulting.com Digital Edition - June 2019
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ABILITY”
ity and recycled content “REPARABILITY” “RECYCLABILITY”
or a different polymer. Recycled content is calculated from the mass of recyclate input using an administrative allocation based on a mass balance approach over a specific period of time, with a maximum of one year. Defining what counts as recycled materials is also a key part of metals sector sustainability schemes. The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has published a Performance Standard for responsible aluminium production, which encourages material stewardship and recycling. Postconsumer scrap and reclaimed dross are immediately ASI compliant, after due
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diligence on the supplier. However, pre-consumer scrap, recycled through the supply chain from a customer back to a supplier for instance, does not have this advantage. This is in contrast to the approach of PrEN 45557:2019. ASI treats pre-consumer scrap in the same way as primary aluminium; it must be verified back to ASI certified bauxite via a supply chain of ASI certified companies. This approach limits the flow of ASI compliant secondary aluminium down the supply chain, which does not seem to be aligned with the aim of encouraging recycling. The restriction will have less impact when there is a good supply of ASI compliant primary aluminium. But currently there is only one bauxite mine with ASI certification, which, together with the narrow eligibility of scrap material, limits the development of ASI certified products. International brands that use aluminium for consumer electronics, luxury vehicles and single use packaging are keen to have access to responsible aluminium. Only ASI certified coffee capsules have so far been announced. A time limited change in the rules might help bring forward more ASI certified products in the short term.
As the EN Standards for recycling are developed, there is more consideration needed of the practicalities associated with sorting and conversion. The cost and energy use of keeping raw materials in repeat cycles of manufacture, use, collection and reconstitution are different for metals, plastic, paper and glass. These key variables are difficult to measure and define. European Aluminium has criticised the current definitions within the Circular Economy of re-usable and nonreusable materials as too simplistic. It is arguing for recognition of the difference between materials that recycle without degradation, which it calls permanent materials and those that deteriorate during recycling. Aluminium can claim to be a permanent material, as its inherent properties do not change during repeated recycling into new products. Whereas the reality of much mechanical recycling of plastic is degradation and down-cycling to a lower grade application. Some decisions have already been taken but much work is still in progress. So now is the time for industry to engage with the European standardisation process to influence the treatment of aluminium within the Circular Economy regulation. �
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The can‌can Ball Corporation is the largest producer of recyclable metal beverage cans in the world. Founded in 1880, Ball have always been pioneers in packaging, bringing innovation and industry-leading insight to our customers.
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As a global company with over 100 locations and 17,500 employees worldwide, the company are singularly focused on helping our customers accomplish their goals through technical know-how, passion and expertise. Working with customers to create the best packaging possible for their brand is of utmost importance to Ball, which feeds into the company’s three key values – Customer Focus, Innovation and Sustainability. Customer focus Committed to delivering the total package, Ball aims to be seen as a strategic partner of each of their customers, working with them to build their business. Whatever the packaging ambitions, Ball will act in partnership in order to produce the right solution for a brand and be seen as the packaging partner of choice – delivering at every touch point whether it be technical support, sustainability or marketing. With leading-edge thinking, driving initiatives that are good for clients as well as the industry and the size and scale of the corporation, Ball demonstrates its leadership through a multitude of ways. By maintaining a close collaboration with our customers and monitoring market trends, they continue to grow and develop these values further. A company built on passion, Ball is passionate about customer service, about delivering value to shareholders and about its own values and vision. Most importantly, Ball is passionate about its people and has great stories to tell about how this has helped them succeed over and over again. Innovation Defining the role that Ball wants to play for its customers, innovation is key to helping them improve their own business performance through Ball’s unceasing pursuit of improved products and services. Ball puts great importance on the end consumer by developing innovations with them in mind – and understanding that each market requires a bespoke approach. In doing so, the product will reflect what the end consumer really wants and not just what the industry believes the consumer needs. Ball’s extended range of cans, finishes and ends, means the company offers unparalleled choice and opportunity for its beverage customers in Europe, from the traditional 330ml can through Slim and Sleek® formats, all the way to King size. With innovation not just limited to products or services, but also with the way the brand approaches customer service, Ball Corporation is best-placed to continually innovate in the industry. Digital Edition - June 2019
Sustainability For Ball, sustainability is a systematic way of doing business that creates economic, social and environmental value for its shareholders, communities and the planet. With a recycling rate of 69%, the can is the world’s most recycled beverage container, and can be recycled over and over with no loss of quality, irrespective of colour or design, making it the material of choice for environmentally conscious consumers. The can delivers value at all stages of the value chain With its 360-degree branding canvas, and global sustainable credentials, the can positions itself as a highly visible beverage package on the shelf. Shatterproof and lightweight, it is easy to transport and store whilst remaining durable, optimising space on shipments and reducing pollution. The can preserves and protects the beverage from sunlight and air, allowing the taste to remain exactly as intended. It is also a convenient, everyday product – quick to chill, value for money, and easy to open for that perfect ‘ready-to-drink’ moment. It is the perfect pack for all beverage types such as water, CSD, energy drinks, beer and cider, juices, wine and iced tea. As a company, Ball share the vision to make the can the most sustainable package in the beverage supply chain. Recycling is important because metal is a permanent material, which cannot be destroyed. This means that metals can be used again with no loss of their valuable properties. The global aluminium can recycling rate is 69%
with over 2.5 million tons of cans being recycled every year. Amazingly, 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today and, if recycled properly, a can may be back on the shelf in as little as 60 days. Having always been pioneers in packaging innovation, Ball uses its “metal recycles forever” and “every can counts” behaviour change campaigns to help consumers, and businesses, better understand the role they play in recycling. Ball has an on-going commitment to reduce waste and its use of water and electricity, by embedding sustainability in operations around the world. To promote sustainability frameworks across the business, Ball established the R. David Hoover Sustainability Award in 2011 in honour of the company’s former chairman, president and CEO, who was a key driver in the development of Ball’s formal sustainability program. The 2018 Hoover award for Europe was the Ludesch plant in Austria. The Ludesch plant attained zero total recordable incidents, achieved an 8 percent in reduction in its normalized water, decreased its normalized energy use by 1 percent and sent zero waste to landfill. The plant also raised awareness about the can’s sustainability profile and promoted recycling efforts in the local community, and participated in local landscape clean-up and can recycling events. For the beverage industry specifically, it is clear to see that the consumer experience has now gone beyond just drinking, with many consumers now acutely aware of the environmental impact the products and brands they purchase have. Thus, companies should be aware of this and Aluminium International Today
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acknowledge that their products need to be easily disposed of and recycled. As such, it is essential that recycling is incorporated into the consumer experience from the beginning. The beverage can is easy to use, drink and recycle. The value of recycling cannot be underestimated, there needs to be a really good infrastructure in place to ensure products can be picked up and sorted correctly. The UK, for example, has a small amount of on-the-go collections and general waste bins alongside double bins (general waste and recycling) are not widespread. It is this challenge that prevents cans from achieving near 100% recycling rates as there is a need to upgrade on-the-go recycling infrastructure on public transport and on the high street, as well as investment in consumer education and awareness. Other forms of packaging suffer similar issues. Packaging types like Carton/opaque PET bottles for example may be collected alongside other recyclable materials, yet can’t be recycled at the point of sorting. Whilst an infrastructure for PET is not currently in place for the majority of Europe, the aluminium infrastructure does
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currently exist in the UK. The recycling plant in Warrington alone can recycle all nine billion aluminium cans currently in circulation. Thus, the opportunity
to change consumer mindsets from unrecyclable formats to cans is vast and not something that brands and supply chains should take for granted. ďż˝
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