Artificial intelligence and robotics are playing an increasingly important role in metal recycling and shredder operations. Industry experts highlighted their potential to improve material control, quality assurance and operational efficiency during the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Shredder Committee meeting in Gothenburg on 1 June.

In a joint open letter addressed to Executive Vice President Stéphane Séjourné and Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, a coalition of European recycling associations and companies has called on the European Commission to reconsider any potential export restrictions on recycled aluminium scrap. The letter, dated May 28, 2026, was coordinated by Recycling Europe and signed by dozens of companies and national associations from across the EU.

The Global Aluminium Can Collectors Alliance (GBCCA) has announced the development of a new technology aimed at advancing the circular economy for aluminium beverage cans. According to the organization, the innovation is designed to improve the collection and recycling processes and ensure that cans remain one of the most recycled packaging formats worldwide.

Finder Color is particularly effective for recovering valuable materials such as copper and brass from mixed heavy metals, cleaning stainless steel fractions (including those from end-of-life vehicles) and achieving high-level purification of printed circuit boards (PCBs) from mixed e-scrap. It is capable of processing grain sizes from 6-120mm and delivering throughputs of up to 20 tons per hour on Zorba material.

Steinert Splitcontrol, the latest add-on for Steinert eddy current separators, optimises the sorting quality of incineration bottom ash and additional fine-grain applications.

Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen GmbH is planning to expand its production capacity by building an additional manufacturing plant for small wheel loaders in Wildon, Styria.

A new version of the Design for Recycling Guidelines for all plastic packaging streams was released by RecyClass.