News archive

Waste plastic bale prices in Italy have jumped in the past month, while high density polyethylene (HDPE) bales sold at the Spanish Ecoembes auction have also seen a significant price increase.

Tomra Recycling has introduced the Finder metal recovery platform, a modular system for sorting mixed non-ferrous materials. The system is designed to process input streams such as shredded end-of-life vehicles and electronic scrap. It separates copper and brass fractions, recovers insulated wire, cleans stainless steel and enables the sorting of printed circuit boards from electronic waste.

Steinert MSort has developed an upgrade for existing sorting systems that enables efficient HR glass separation. The solution allows heat-resistant glass and plastics to be removed in a single sorting step alongside ceramics, stones and porcelain (CSP). It is designed for integration into installed machines, including systems that have been in operation for 10 to 15 years.

Aimplas is coordinating the VEGANCELIO project, which focuses on converting organic waste into higher-value materials for industrial applications.

Portugal will introduce its national Portugal Deposit Return System for beverage packaging on 10 April 2026. The system, branded Volta, is operated by SDR Portugal: Associação de Embaladores and applies to single-use beverage containers below three litres made of plastic, aluminium and steel. A deposit of €0.10 is charged per container. The IT platform provided by Sensoneo supports system operations, including container registration, collection processes, reverse logistics and financial clearing.

Eggersmann Anlagenbau GmbH has been appointed exclusive plant manufacturer for the IRRT process developed by proCLIR GmbH. The process is designed for the treatment of incinerator bottom ash and focuses on recovering marketable raw materials at industrial scale.

Fashion for Good has launched Project FAE (Feedstock Activation Europe) to develop sorting and pre-processing infrastructure for post-consumer textile feedstock. The initiative aims to enable the supply of non-rewearable textiles to textile-to-textile recycling at industrial scale.

RWE has installed a CO₂-reduced offshore wind turbine at the Thor offshore wind farm off Denmark’s west coast. The turbine combines a steel tower produced with reduced emissions and rotor blades designed for recycling. The installation forms part of the 1.1 gigawatt Thor project, where 72 turbines with a capacity of up to 15 megawatts each are scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

Sesotec GmbH and WeSort.AI GmbH are expanding their partnership to further develop AI-supported sorting technologies for the recycling industry. The focus is on increasing operational safety and improving process efficiency in waste treatment facilities.

Liebherr will present its portfolio of machines and digital applications for waste management and recycling at IFAT. The focus will be on material handling machines, wheel loaders and solutions for battery dismantling and digital monitoring.

EU environmental economy employment increased from 3.6 million full-time equivalents in 2014 to 5.8 million in 2023, representing an increase of 2.2 million and an average annual growth rate of 5.5%.

Steel production generates around 8% of global energy-related emissions and approximately 30% of industrial emissions. The term “green steel” generally refers to steel with low or near-zero carbon intensity, although a uniform definition has not been established.