Newsworthy

Paper

US recovered paper exports down in ’23, ISRI reports

Recovered paper exports from the United States continued their decline through the end of 2023, according to data released in March from the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

U.S. exports of recovered paper were down 18 percent in 2023 compared with 2022, going from 16 million metric tons that year to little more than 13 million metric tons in 2023—the lowest total over the past five years. Prior to 2023, the lowest recovered paper export total was 14.8 million metric tons in 2020.

India remains the top buyer of U.S. recovered paper but imported nearly 31 percent less in 2023 than it did in 2022—the largest decrease of any top 10 country. Of the top 10 destinations, only Thailand and Malaysia recorded increases in 2023. In fact, both Thailand and Malaysia are the only two countries in the top 10 to increase their imports every year since 2019.

India supplanted China in 2021 as the top importer of recovered paper from the U.S. In 2023, India imported 2.5 million metric tons from the U.S.—its lowest figure since 2020.

Thailand followed closely behind, importing 2.3 million metric tons of U.S. recovered paper in 2023, an increase of more than 15 percent from 2022. Those 2.3 million tons also are the most exported to Thailand in five years. In 2019, Thailand imported 522,583 metric tons of U.S. recovered paper, which jumped to nearly 2 million metric tons by 2021.

Mexico and Vietnam, the third- and fourth-ranked destinations, both saw double-digit decreases year over year. Mexico imported 1.8 million metric tons of U.S. recovered paper in 2023, down 23.4 percent from 2022, while Vietnam imported 1.5 million metric tons, down almost 19 percent through year-end.

Exports to Malaysia were up 13.3 percent in 2023 compared with 2022. Last year, Malaysia imported 1.3 million metric tons of recovered paper from the U.S.—a stark difference from the 181,930 metric tons the country imported in 2019.

Taiwan (at 742,835 metric tons), Canada (747,182), South Korea (619,608), China (643,992) and Indonesia (426, 347) round out the 10 largest export destinations for recovered paper generated in the U.S.

ISRI notes that while U.S. recovered paper exports to China decreased nearly 13 percent year over year, some paper exports sent to surrounding Asian countries find their way into China “in one form or another.” By value, U.S. exports of recovered paper to China declined 45 percent to $153.6 million in 2023.

As of November 2023, the overall value of U.S. recovered paper exports had dropped nearly 30 percent to $2.29 billion.

Metals, Personnel

Alter announces executive leadership changes

Alter Trading Corp., St. Louis, has announced CEO Jay Robinovitz will retire April 30, while Senior Vice President of Ferrous Marketing Don Martin retired March 31. With their departures, Jack Grundfest will become CEO, and Matt Dykstra, who joined the company in August 2022, takes full responsibility for the Ferrous Marketing Group as senior vice president.

Grundfest joined the company in 2018 with Alter’s acquisition of Tenenbaum Recycling Group. In his new role as president and CEO, Grundfest will be responsible for Alter’s executive team as well as the leadership teams supporting Alter Logistics, American Industrial Motor Service, Pinnacle Engineering and Altech Recycling LLC.

Robinovitz will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors following his retirement.

Since he joined Alter Trading in 2009 as senior vice president and chief officer of operations, Robinovitz served as president from 2012 until he was named CEO in 2018.

“As I look forward to the next chapter in my life, I can’t think of anything more exciting than watching the company flourish under Jack’s leadership,” Robinovitz says. “With a world-class group around him, this succession plan puts in place a fantastic team for the next phase of Alter’s growth and success.”

Robinovitz and Martin have played instrumental roles in Alter’s strategic growth during their tenure, according to the company, having expanded its footprint to more than 71 locations in nine states and a sales office in Singapore. The company employs 1,600 people, and its operations include 18 automobile shredders.

Founded in 1898, ISO 9001- and 14001-certified Alter is a privately owned, fifth-generation company.

In Memoriam

Larry Kripke

Larry Kripke, founder of aluminum brokerage firm Kripke Enterprises Inc. (KEI), Toledo, Ohio, died Feb. 13 at the age of 80 after battling Parkinson’s disease.

Kripke began working in the recycled metals industry in the mid-1960s at Sherwin Metals in Toledo, where he joined his father, Sherwin, and brothers, Harley and Bobby, in the family’s recycled metals brokerage business. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1965, Kripke returned to the family business. Under his leadership, Sherwin Metals merged with Tuschman Steel in 1976, forming Kripke-Tuschman Industries, with Kripke spearheading nonferrous operations.

Kripke-Tuschman merged with OmniSource Corp. in 1983, and Kripke eventually led the Ohio nonferrous trading group. He managed a secondary smelter, a copper granulating line, a hedging operation and numerous aluminum and copper operations before founding KEI in 1993.

His son, Matt Kripke, CEO of KEI, previously told Recycling Today one of the best lessons he learned from his father is that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. He credited his father’s success as an entrepreneur and leader to this philosophy, adding that he loved his employees like family and treated them all with respect.

KEI says Kripke’s positive impact on those around him and his contributions to the industry will be remembered and cherished. “As we mourn the loss of a true pioneer, we also celebrate the incredible life and achievements of Larry Kripke," the company adds. "His spirit will forever be the foundation of our company, guiding us as we continue to honor his legacy in all that we do."

Plastics

BASF brings chemically recycled products to the US

BASF is leveraging its global experience in chemical recycling using pyrolysis, which the company refers to as ChemCycling, to offer International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus-certified “Ccycled” materials from the BASF TotalEnergies Petrochemicals facility in Port Arthur, Texas.

The facility is a 60/40 joint venture between BASF and TotalEnergies, which is based in France.

The company says the recycled feedstock is attributed to the advanced recycled building blocks produced via a mass balance approach. These building blocks can be used for many BASF products manufactured in the U.S., such as super absorbent polymers, engineered plastics or polyurethanes.

“As a pioneer in the industry for advanced recycling, BASF is building on its experience, innovative strength and great partnerships along the value chain to create a more circular economy for plastics,” says Gulay Serhatkulu, senior vice president, petrochemicals, BASF North America. “By using recycled raw materials at the beginning of the chemical value chain, plastic waste becomes a resource, creating value for the environment, society and the economy.”

By establishing advanced recycling as a complementary solution to mechanical recycling, BASF says it is possible to use more end-of-life plastics, particularly those that cannot be recycled mechanically, including plastics with residues and mixed plastic fractions.

“New products from advanced recycling have the same properties as products using fossil-derived building blocks,” says Johanne Wilson, business development manager for ChemCycling at BASF. “Our customers can process Ccycled products in the same way as conventionally manufactured products for use in their downstream businesses, including high-performance packaging and demanding applications such as automotive or construction.”

BASF Corp., headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 16,000 employees in North America and had sales of $25.7 billion in 2022.

Batteries

Call2Recycle releases ’23 battery collection recycling data

Call2Recycle Inc., an Atlanta-based consumer battery stewardship and collection program, has released its annual battery collection data for 2023. Despite rising costs in battery recycling last year, the organization reports more than 8 million pounds of batteries were collected for recycling in the U.S., including more than 5.4 million pounds of rechargeable batteries and more than 2.6 million pounds of primary batteries.

According to Call2Recycle, battery collection in the U.S. increased by 1.5 percent overall from 2022, with single-use batteries growing by 11 percent, while rechargeable batteries collected for recycling decreased by 2.8 percent.

Call2Recycle tells Recycling Today the increase in single-use batteries collected can be attributed to the willingness of sites to accept and fund the recycling of such batteries.

As for the decrease in rechargeable batteries collected, Call2Recycle says more of these batteries are being “embedded” in products and cannot be easily accessed by consumers, limiting their recyclability.

Several factors led to the increase in recycling costs in 2023, including market changes, inflationary pressures and Call2Recycle’s continuing commitment to safety in transportation, which influenced the cost to collect, sort, transport and process batteries.

Call2Recycle reports more than 60,000 pounds of e-bike batteries were collected and recycled during the second year of the voluntary, industry-supported e-bike battery recycling program, powered by Call2Recycle and endorsed by PeopleForBikes. Supported by 56 participating brands, the program now has more than 1,900 specially trained e-bike battery collection sites nationwide.

“We’re thrilled to continue our progress each year towards a more sustainable and circular economy,” Call2Recycle CEO Leo Raudys says. “Due to challenges posed by rising collection costs, collective action is more important now than ever. The joint efforts between regulators, manufacturers, retailers and consumers are imperative to drive progress. Together, we reaffirm our commitment to responsible battery recycling and look forward to continuing our journey towards a circular economy.”

Plastics, Mergers & Acquisitions

LyondellBasell acquires PreZero mechanical recycling assets, plans California operations

Houston-based chemical company LyondellBasell has acquired the mechanical recycling assets and properties containing rigid plastics recycling lines from PreZero, a Germany-based recycling and waste management provider. The transaction includes leasing PreZero’s processing facility in Jurupa Valley, California, which has an annual production capacity of approximately 50 million pounds of recycled plastic.

The company expects to start operations at its new facility in 2025.

“This acquisition further strengthens our U.S. presence and will deliver value for our customers and plastic recycling rates on the West Coast,” says Yvonne van der Laan, executive vice president, circular and low carbon solutions, at LyondellBasell.

The company plans to use the California site to manufacture postconsumer recycled resins using plastic scrap feedstock. LyondellBasell will offer these recycled polymers under its CirculenRecover brand, which is part of its Circulen portfolio of products.

LyondellBasell says the transaction supports its efforts to build a circular economy for plastic, help end plastic waste and meet customer demand.

PreZero has operations in 10 countries, including a U.S. base founded in 2018 in Jurupa Valley. The company had another U.S. location in Westminster, South Carolina, but that facility closed in 2022, with PreZero saying the move was the best way forward in pursuit of its vision. A spokesperson at the time said the site was underperforming.