India’s recycling sector receives support

Scrap metal recycling in India is ending the year with several news items that point to the industry’s positive momentum in that nation.

Mahindra MSTC Recycling Pvt. Ltd., part of India-based conglomerate and vehicle producer Mahindra Group, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with government agencies of the state of Maharashtra “to set up additional world-class vehicle scrapping centers” in that Indian state.

The proposed end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling centers will be able to recycle passenger cars, commercial vehicles and smaller two- and three-wheeled vehicles “in accordance with all the legal and environmental norms” issued by the pertinent government agencies and ministries.

Mahindra MSTC Recycling, which also is known as Cero, says it already has a recycling facility in Pune, India, and is looking to set up four additional facilities in the cities of Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik. The company says its ELV recycling centers are designed to provide “a hassle-free option for customers to scrap their vehicles.”

“Cero aims to create a network of world-class facilities across Maharashtra and India,” says Sumit Issar, managing director of Mahindra Accelo. “From a sustainability point of view, through recycling of old vehicles, we aim to reduce India’s dependence on steel scrap imports and conservation of natural resources, which go into the production of steel.”

Also on the scrap consumption side, Davis Index has reported that India’s Ministry of Steel leader Ram Chandra Prasad Singh delivered remarks in mid-December in support of that country’s scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) and induction furnace steel producers.

The minister reportedly told a steel industry gathering in the state of Punjab “all support will be extended” by the national government to steel industry stakeholders as the nation focuses on building its infrastructure and its manufacturing sector.

In the nonferrous sector, Nupur Recyclers Ltd., an importer and processor of mixed nonferrous metals, is preparing to issue a stock IPO, according to a news release issued by the company earlier this month.

India’s efforts to boost its secondary metals production come at a time when some of its neighbors in Asia are scrutinizing scrap imports and secondary production, despite the energy and resource efficiency seemingly inherent in the practice.