Robin Latchem

At a ceremony with politicians, the Complex Recycling Hamburg (CRH) facility was unveiled by Aurubis coo Tim Kurth after around two-and-a-half years of construction. CRH is one of the most significant growth projects under the company’s current strategy, ‘Aurubis Performance 2030: Forging resilience. Leading in multi-metal.’ The EUR 190 million investment is expected to deliver a considerable positive financial contribution once fully ramped up.

A report commissioned by environment ministers from the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre (GPPPC) argues more activity should be trying to prevent waste in the first place. The report, Progressing Beyond Recycling for a Circular Economy, considers activity across six priority sectors: food and agriculture, chemicals and plastics, electrical and electronic equipment, transport, textiles, and the built environment.

Valipac, the extended producer responsibility (EPR) organisation for industrial packaging, has concluded an agreement with Raff Plastics by which sufficient local capacity will be reserved in Belgium to recycle around 6 000 tonnes of bags. The export ban comes into force in November and the expectation in the sector is that it will seriously disrupt the recovery of certain industrial plastic packaging, notably big bags, 97% of which are currently recycled outside the OECD.