Material Stewardship
Aluminium and Magnesium are light materials, which demonstrate a high degree of strength. They are corrosion-resistant, excellent conductors of heat, and can be easily molded and processed. These properties make Aluminium and Magnesium suitable for intelligent product solutions and commercial applications.
In the mobility sectors especially, they allow for light weight solutions, thus saving emissions and energy in the use of vehicles, trains, aircraft etc. Moreover, these metals’ unique properties are unaffected by the recycling process, so these precious resources can be reused countless times with no loss of quality. Best of all: The recycling process for these metals is hugely more energy and CO₂ efficient than their primary production: Recycling Aluminium requires only about 5 percent of the energy needed for primary Aluminium production. This makes recycling of these metals a must-do in terms of sustainability! Our recycling of Aluminium and Magnesium into new input materials for industrial production is an important contribution towards a circular economy. It helps preserve natural resources and minerals as well as energy while maintaining highest quality of the recycled products. Speira's Recycling Services has the knowledge, experience, and technical equipment to recycle a large variety of different raw materials, whether generated from production processes, or available as post-consumer scrap. These include, for example, turnings, cuttings, foils, shredded scrap, incinerator scrap, skimmings, and drosses. They can be converted into different metal shapes and quality grades to meet the needs of customers in a broad variety of industry segments.
We deliver these highly versatile metals in a variety of different alloys in molten and solid ingot forms. Molten Aluminium is delivered directly to the customer in specially designed crucibles. This reduces metal losses due to oxidation and helps our customers save significant amounts of energy that they would otherwise require to melt solid input material. Just-in-time molten metal delivery also reduces production complexity at our customers and helps them improve their process efficiency. Solid Aluminium or Magnesium is produced according to customer demands in line with quality and chemical specifications and also presenting low CO₂ footprints. Speira's Recycling Services is member of various trade associations within the Aluminium and Magnesium industry, both at European and at national level. This includes memberships with European Aluminium (EA), Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Aluminium Deutschland (AD), Wirtschaftsvereinigung Metalle (WVM) and Aluminium Federation (ALFED). Members of the management and corporate experts participate in committees and task forces, engage in relevant discussions and contribute to sharing and learning efforts. We report data and information to these associations to support industry wide efforts towards improved transparency and sustainability. In 2019 we joined the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) – an important step for Speira Recycling Services in developing a consistent and coherent corporate sustainability strategy.
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
Recycling of Aluminium and Magnesium existed long before circular economy became a major trend. Used Aluminium and Magnesium parts and scraps are not only too valuable to dispose of, they are also great for reprocessing and remodelling. Recycling Aluminium and Magnesium is much more efficient than producing it from prime raw materials. Remelting consumes only about 5 percent of the energy needed for primary production. In addition, both materials lose none of their properties through recycling. This has two advantages; the metal retains its value and can be reprocessed as often as is desired. Recycled alloys are therefore the logical choice for environmentally conscious customers who want greater efficiency in their metal supply. With decades of experience, state-of-the-art technologies, and the constant development of new and environmentally friendly processes, Speira's Recycling Services can provide the best possible Aluminium and Magnesium recycling solutions, while consuming as little energy and as few additives as possible.
The low-energy footprint, in comparison with primary metals, has also reduced the carbon footprint of our metal. Recycled Aluminium and Magnesium are therefore ideal for all customers aiming to reduce the carbon and climate impact in their supply chain. The light weight of these two metals bring about more of these advantages in the use phase of related products in most sectors. As a member or European Aluminium (EA), Speira actively participated and contributed to EA's work around a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Aluminium.
Product Design
A growing number of customers across all industry segments are demanding metal based on low CO₂ footprints. Together with customers, Speira's Recycling Services is not only exploring suitability and availability of possible raw materials, but also discusses specification of products, their applications and opportunities for reducing energy and carbon intensity.
Collection and Recycling of Products at End-of-Life
Reclaiming Aluminium and Magnesium scrap from the various production wastes and post-consumer wastes and returning it as a resource into the value chain is the essence of Aluminium and Magnesium recycling and the core of our business model. It is the most resource and energy efficient key for the supply of metal with low CO₂ footprint. For Aluminium, typical end-of-life (EOL) scrap types are used beverage cans (UBC), window profiles, metal from incinerator bottom ashes (IBA) or market scrap. Speira's Recycling Services offers long-standing experience, the required know-how and state-of-the-art technology for sourcing and processing these scrap types. We are familiar with the main challenges around processing such scrap, for example due to contaminations with other materials or varying alloy compositions in scraps from different uses. Our sampling and testing routines are designed to control the remelting process and the product quality levels closely.
Aluminiumstraße 3 41515 Grevenbroich Germany
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