INITIATIVES

A joint publication from

Sims Metal Management

and

KESAB environmental solutions

Issue Number 1 September 2011

Initiatives.

KESAB006 CHASING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS

Back in 2007 SMM SA & NT invested some $3.5 million dollars in a new non-ferrous metal recovery plant. The plant was built alongside the shredder located at our Gillman yard and consists of equipment designed to size and separate non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, copper, brass, stainless steel, zinc and the like from the ferrous metal and waste (or ‘flock) that comes combined in the recycling stream. We were rightfully proud of that achievement, as it represented at the time a state of the art example of recycling technology.

Four years on and our own internal development teams across Australia, Europe and North America have taken another quantum leap with ‘recovery’ technology.

In July 2011 we completed the next upgrade of our ‘shredder recoveries’ technology. While there is no doubt that recovering minute amounts of non-ferrous metal from the downstream of a metal shredder is governed by the law of diminishing returns, we here at SMM are committed to continued investment in better technologies to ensure that the recycling yield is maximised. This new initiative, at a cost of some $1.5 million dollars, will increase recovered materials and also reduces the amount going to landfill from recycling residues. This initiative represents another small step in maximising the use of redundant materials, and in our view stamps SMM as very different to its competitors.

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