Alupro, the aluminium packaging recycling organisation, has welcomed Scanmetals as its latest member. Headquartered in the UK, but with operations across Scandinavia and Germany, the company specialises in recovering non ferrous metals from incinerator bottom ash generated by Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities.
After residual waste has been recovered to generate electricity and heat, the Scanmetals process sees residual incinerator bottom ash (IBA) sorted via mechanical and sensor based technology to remove dust and aggregate. Individual fractions of valuable metals are removed and sold to smelters, refineries, ingot makers and foundries across the globe.
Unlike more traditional IBA sortation solutions, the Scanmetals process is completely dry, harnessing the latest innovations in eddy current, induction and X-ray sorting applications. This avoids the use of large volumes of water and chemicals, while minimising oxidisation of the metals recovered – significantly improving output quality.
Andrew King, managing director at Scanmetals, commented: ‘With more than 11 million tonnes of residual household and municipal waste treated in EfW facilities in the UK alone every year, we believe that capturing metals released during energy recovery is an important circular process. By sorting the IBA, we capture more than 39,000 tonnes of ferrous metal per annum, including 26,000 tonnes of aluminium – 85% of which originates from aluminium packaging.
‘Thanks to our unique process, we play an instrumental role in diverting valuable resources away from landfill. What is more, as metal recovered from IBA achieves significant energy savings when compared to primary production, we can help companies across the world to lower their carbon footprint and prioritise the use of recycled materials.
‘Joining Alupro provides a unique platform to engage with our customers and suppliers, as well as consumers, to further promote the benefits of IBA recovery and its importance in UK recycling rates.’
Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, added: ‘We are delighted to announce Scanmetals as the first IBA recovery specialist to join Alupro. It demonstrates the company’s commitment to engaging with new audiences, as well as communicating the important role of IBA in the circular economy of tomorrow to consumers.
‘We look forward to exploring the ways in which we can work together and make a real difference to the aluminium packaging recycling industry.’