Brazil – aluminium & steel recycling reaches record levels

Aluminium



Brazilian association CEMPRE reports that 121,000 metric tonnes of aluminium cans recycled in 2002, by35 recyclers (among them producers of secondary aluminum). This sustains 152,000 direct and indirect jobs and sales of US$ 293 million.



These are the results obtained in 2002 by the aluminium can recycling sector in Brazil, according to data from the Brazilian Aluminum Association (Abal). The numbers show that the country recycled 87% of the cans consumed, or over 9 billion cans. According to Abal, since 2001 Brazil has ranked number one in can recycling in countries where this is not compulsory by law. For the last two years, the percentage of cans recycled in Brazil has been 85%, compared to 83%, in Japan, the previous world leader.



Estimates put the number of aluminium scrap buying centres scattered around the country at 6,000, facilitating access for recyclers. Recycling of aluminium cans in 2002 saved approximately 1,700 GWh of energy, the equivalent of 0.5% of all energy generated in the country (enough to power a city of 1 million inhabitants). Seventy cans weigh one kilogram – each Brazilian consumes an annual 51 cans, compared to 375 cans per capita in the US.



Steel



In 2002, Brazil consumed five million tons of scrap steel, of which 3.3 million tonnes were used to produce new steel. The manufacture of new sheet metal for steel packaging consumed 1 million tonnes. These figures show that Brazil already has the installed capacity to absorb 100% of scrap from steel packaging. Tin-plated steel accounts for 21% of the domestic packaging market, cans for carbonated drinks (sodas and beer) for another 6%, and the remainder goes to steel smelters that melt the scrap for new products or new sheet steel.



Metalic, a part of the CSN steel company, is Latin America’s only manufacturer of two-part steel cans (a casing made without soldered joints, together with the lid) for drinks. Production at the company accounts for around 6% of the Brazilian beverage can market – the remainder being made of aluminum. CSN also owns Reciclaço, a company recycling steel beverage cans in the country’s North and Northeast regions, subsidizing the separate collection of this kind of packaging. Last year, Reciclaço recovered 488 million cans, to reach a record 75% recycling figure (in 2001, the percentage was 49%). Of CSN’s direct production of 5.2 million tonnes of liquid steel in 2002, of which the main raw material is cast iron, only 15.61% came from steel scrap. This material is one of the principal inputs at Gerdau – the largest manufacturer of long steel in the Americas, with a production of 5.9 million tonnes last year. Almost one-third of this, or 2 million tonnes, was the result of recycling.