Scrap Industry News

Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) members have expressed deep concern regarding what it terms in a press release as "the threatening negative impact of the application of the EU Shipments Regulation on the business of international recyclers."

The revised regulation, which will be applied as of July 12, 2007, affects trade in recyclables within the EU, exports from the EU and imports into the EU.

Delegates to the BIR’s World Recycling Convention in Athens said they were concerned about supply disruptions to metal works, paper mills and other scrap users around the world.

Another serious danger is the loss of commercial confidentiality, according to the BIR. The EU regulation stipulates the seller must use a form, know as "Annex VII," which lists the company’s suppliers. That same form must be signed by the customer upon receipt of the goods. This in effect forces the seller to expose its supplier to its customer. In effect, the Annex VII formula is a business killer, according to the BIR.

These were issues raised by other federations representing the recycling sector when the legislation was in development in the EU Parliament. The council and commission did not resolve these concerns during the approval process.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has invited auto salvage yard operators to participate in a voluntary self-certification program that can help them come into, or stay in, compliance while also improving environmental and health risk factors associated with such businesses.

The program, funded through a prior grant of $200,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency, offers salvage yard operators the opportunity to self-certify to the DEM that they comply with certain environmental regulations and best management practices.

By participating, auto salvage yard owners can receive free on-site and telephone consultation compliance assistance. Participants will also benefit from guidance documents, such as a certification workbook, brochure and fact sheets, as well as cost-saving pollution prevention technical assistance. Participation also allows facilities to be placed on a public list of certified auto salvage yard facilities on DEM’s Web site.

According to the DEM, 73 auto salvage yards are in the state. Each must be licensed by the state’s Department of Business Regulation and is subject to various local laws. Additionally, the yards are subject to state environmental regulations.

The University of Rhode Island’s Center for Pollution Prevention and Environmental Health is partnering with the DEM on the project and is performing much of the work. DEM has designed the program with input from the auto salvage industry through a formal stakeholder process.

Self-certification booklets and checklists were mailed in May to the operators of the auto salvage yards, with a request to complete the self-audit by the middle of September.

Chicago’s Metal Management Inc. has acquired substantially all of the assets of Mars Industries Inc. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Privately owned Mars, which was founded in 1987, provides full-service scrap metal recycling services in the Detroit area. Mars currently handles approximately 360,000 tons of ferrous scrap metal per year.

Metal Management speculates that the acquisition will be immediately accretive to its earnings.

Metalico Inc., based in Cranford, N.J., has announced the acquisition of Tranzact Corp., a recycler of molybdenum, tantalum and tungsten scrap. The company is located in Quarryville, Pa., where it processes, warehouses and trades these specialty materials.

Tranzact reported sales of roughly $25 million during each of the two previous fiscal years.

Tranzact’s operations are characterized by low unit volumes purchased and sold, but with high dollar value transactions, according to a press release from Metalico. For example, the company’s principal scrap metal, molybdenum, has traded in a $25-to-$30 per pound range in recent months.

Molybdenum is used in the vacuum and air-melting of super alloys and in corrosion and wear-resistant alloys and steels.

Tranzact focuses on effectively sourcing, sorting, certifying and assuring that scrap metal meets its quality control requirements and those of its consumers before metals are shipped, according to the release. It principally generates scrap from domestic and offshore sources.

Tranzact founder William E. Zimmerman will act as a consultant to Metalico.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has signed into law HB 1141, which attempts to resolve the problem of scrap metal theft. It went into effect July 1, 2007.

The bill requires scrap yards to record the identification of peddlers as well as license plate numbers and descriptions of vehicles in which metal is delivered. Scrap yard owners also will need to provide a detailed description of the material they purchase.

The law also requires scrap yards to hold the metal separate from other materials purchased, keeping the material for no less than five working days after the purchase. During that time, the company cannot process the metal, according to the law. Any company that provides a digital photograph, video record or other record format to identify the seller and the metal will be exempt from the holding requirement. However, the scrap yard will need to hold such information for 90 days.

Other exemptions include materials purchased from a regulated public utility or an original manufacturer of scrap or industrially generated scrap; the purchase of recyclable food and beverage containers from any source; any scrap transaction between dealers or government entities; or the sale of any metal weighing fewer than 25 pounds.