The Tipton plant in the U.K. is expected to increase production capacity to 80,000 metric tons by 2027.

London-based Technology Minerals PLF has announced that Recyclus Group Ltd., London, a 49 percent Technology Minerals-owned company, has opened its first lead-acid battery recycling plant in Tipton, England. Operations at the facility will commence next month.

According to a news release from Technology Minerals, the Tipton plant is expected to increase Recyclus’ lead-acid battery recycling production capacity from an estimated 16,000 metric tons in the first full year of production, to about 80,000 metric tons by 2027.

The Tipton plant is designed to process up to 12 metric tons per hour of all types of lead-acid batteries and will have a fully automated, modular system that is capable of recycling lead-acid batteries without any gas or particle emissions going into the atmosphere, according to Technology Minerals.

The process breaks down the entire battery into separate constituent parts and recovers lead, acid and plastic materials. These materials can be recycled to support a wide range of industries. The hard lead can be used in grids and terminals, the soft lead for battery paste, and the sulfuric acid can be turned into fertilizers for agricultural use, electrolytes or gypsum for fiberboard construction.

By mechanizing a previously manual process for lead-acid battery recycling, Recyclus can prioritize the safety and sustainability of recycling processes to ensure that Recyclus is taking a responsible approach to battery recycling, the company says.

“With the opening of the lead-acid plant at Tipton, Recyclus is industrializing and mechanizing a long-established industry that has traditionally been very labor-intensive,” says Robin Brundle, chairman of Technology Minerals. “The efficiencies of the plant, combined with Recyclus’ processes, really modernize the sector and will assist in reducing the number of batteries that are either incinerated or, worse still, sent to landfill.”

Brundle says this is the first of 10 plants Recyclus is expected to open in the next six years. Recyclus plans to open a lithium-ion recycling facility in Wolverhampton, England, next month, and an update on the progress of the lithium plant will be provided soon.

The opening of the new plant comes weeks after Recyclus announced the opening of its first laboratory, facilitating in-house testing for lead-acid and lithium-ion battery recycling processes.

The program will help companies decarbonize their recycling processes and offer a new way to sell remanufactured devices.

Circular Computing, an information technology remanufacturing company based in London, has launched a global IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) program which will assist partners in decarbonizing their recycling processes.

“We are delighted to be launching a program that enables the pioneers in ITAD to deliver a more sustainable service while delivering against the increasing demand for sustainable technology,” says Scott Mac Meekin, CEO of Circular Computing. “This is all made possible through utilizing the benefits of remanufacturing to close the loop in IT disposal, alongside the added sustainability benefits the program offers.”

The program also allows for the sale of remanufactured devices. The company says all remanufactured devices sold through the program will be carbon neutral, helping businesses meet sustainability targets like the Climate Change Act, Sustainable Development Goals and the carbon zero obligations set via the U.N.

Circular Computing says the program has four key goals:

“By launching our global ITAD program, we have the opportunity to impart our sustainability expertise to help the industry tackle the growing e-waste problem,” says Steve Haskew, head of sustainability at Circular Computing. “Our new, sustainable ITAD program goes beyond simply allowing enterprises to reap the benefits of carbon-neutral hardware but delivers added environmental and social value, too. This expansion of our offering will allow us to reach a greater number of partners through the ITAD network, driving the transition to a circular economy and helping businesses meet the UN SDGs.”

Ohio Valley Aluminum Co. manufactures 6000-series aluminum billet made from recycled scrap for extrusion applications.

Matalco Inc., a division of Toronto-based Giampaolo Group Inc., has acquired the Ohio Valley Aluminum Co. LLC (OVACO), which is based in Shelbyville, Kentucky. KPMG Corporate Finance LLC served as the financial advisor to the OVACO.

According to a news release from KPMG, OVACO was founded in 1955 and manufactures high-quality 6000-series aluminum billet made from recycled scrap for extrusion applications.

“This is an exciting time for OVACO’s continued evolution,” says Steven Richardson, president of OVACO. “We have diligently upgraded systems and made improvements to keep up with our customers’ demands over the last decade. This new chapter in OVACO’s story will further improve our abilities as the synergies realized through this transaction will benefit OVACO, Matalco, and most importantly, our combined customer base.”

Recycling Today reached out to Matalco for comment on the transaction but did not hear back from the company.

Matalco is a large producer of 6000-series aluminum billet for aluminum extrusion and forging applications. The company now operates six billet plants in the United States, with a seventh plant under construction in Franklin, Kentucky, which KPMG says will bring Matalco’s total capacity to 1.6 billion pounds annually.

The plant will have the capacity to process 50,000 metric tons of postconsumer PET bottles per year.

Alpla, a global producer of sustainable packaging solutions and bottle-to-bottle recycler, says it plans to begin construction on a new recycling plant in Cunduacán, Tabasco, Mexico, as part of its joint venture with Mexico-City-based Coca-Cola FEMSA, a large bottler of Coca-Cola products.

The joint venture is investing $60 million in the new recycling plant, known as Planta Nueva Ecología de Tabasco (PLANETA). According to a news release from Alpla, the facility will have the capacity to process 50,000 metric tons of postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles per year, which it says will result in 35,000 metric tons of recycled PET materials ready for reuse.

Alpla reports that construction and operation of PLANETA is expected to generate 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, helping to promote development and employment in southeast Mexico. The company says the facility also will integrate 18 collection centers throughout south and southeast Mexico to supply the facility.

“The big challenge today is the handling of the materials after the consumption phase,” says Alpla CEO Philipp Lehner. “We are currently investing worldwide in systems to give plastic packaging a value because then it is collected and recycled. With strong partners like Coca-Cola FEMSA at our side, we will be able to set up the necessary infrastructure and close the bottle cycle in as many regions as possible.”

Carlos Torres Ballesteros, Alpla’s managing director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, says this new plant for food-grade PET is the company’s third recycling plant in Mexico. He adds that Alpla plans to continue to invest more than 50 million euros (or about $56 million) every year between 2021 and 2025 to expand the company’s global recycling capacity.

Coca-Cola FEMSA reports that this latest investment also is in line with some of its sustainability commitments. The company, which is part of the global World Without Waste initiative launched by Coca-Cola Co., aims to make all of its packaging 100 percent recyclable by 2025 as well as integrate 50 percent recycled PET resin into bottles and collect 100 percent of that packaging by 2030.

Since 2005, Alpla reports that Alpla Mexico, Coca-Cola Mexico and Coca-Cola FEMSA have partnered to run Industria Mexicana de Reciclaje (IMER), a food-grade PET recycling plant. That facility has a production capacity of 15,000 metric tons of flakes from postconsumer PET scrap per year. The company says this plant has processed more than 140,000 metric tons of this material to date.

The company released AmFiber as a platform for recyclable paper-based packaging products.

Amcor, a global packaging producer based in Zurich, has launched AmFiber, a new platform of paper-based packaging products. The company says AmFiber paper-based packaging will provide a wider range of features and benefits to meet the needs of consumers.

This new platform is in line with Amcor’s 2025 pledge to develop all its packaging to be recyclable or reusable and to increase the use of recycled content by 2025.

According to a news release from Amcor, the first AmFiber product to launch will be a solution tailored to provide snacks and confectionery customers in Europe with a recyclable paper-based package. The company says it plans to extend these paper-based offerings to more applications, such as packaging for coffee, drink powders, seasoning and soups as well as into the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions.

“Amcor’s long-term experience in paper and carton packaging was the basis for launching the AmFiber platform,” says Ron Delia, CEO of Amcor. “Amcor has a proven history of delivering groundbreaking innovation to support our customers’ growth aspirations. This family of differentiated paper-based products builds on Amcor’s extensive track record across multiple materials and applications.”