Plastic Flows from Production to (optimal) Recycling Assessment of plastic flows and their appropriate management, in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development, has recently become an important issue in modern societies, worth more comprehensive investigations. © Foto: Fotolia.com

Articles   Low point of the recession now overcome: The steel sector is recovering The Chinese steel sector is recovering from the recession, at least for the time being. Since hitting rock bottom in mid-November 2008, prices have significantly recovered, the warehouses have reduced their excess stock, and companies are hoping that the government’s infrastructure programme will help them overcome the crisis, reports the ‘Asien Kurier’ in its March edition. The steel recycling sector will also benefit from the upswing. Paper export with opportunities and risks: The financial crisis leads to market adjustment in the paper industry The global financial crisis has also reached the German recycling industry. But as opposed to the banking and automotive industries, the recycling industry has not responded with panic or predictions of Armageddon. Admittedly, there are some problems with exporting wastepaper to China, but in Germany the industry sees more opportunities than risks. In any case, there will be some form of market adjustment. An important representative of the German disposal industry and an expert in the area of wastepaper expresses his views on the situation in the global market. Lutz Siewek is Managing Director of Nehlsen GmbH & CO. KG in Bremen (Germany), where he is also responsible for the company's entire raw materials business. Reliable identification of conductive metals: Sorting metals with no optical aids The EX900 sorting unit, manufactured by Exsor GmbH, is a completely new development in the field of fully automatic, sensor-aided metal sorting. It can accurately recognise and sort out electrically-conducting materials, has a throughput of up to 60 tons per hour for slag and has an intelligent automation concept with freely selectable sorting and metal programs. Thanks to the PROFIBUS automation concept it is possible to control, monitor and visualise all assembly groups and subsystems universally and modularly, while the system can be extended almost infinitely.

ASK Special    Comparative dredged material characterization using sea urchin embryogenesis and fertilization bioassays in Spanish commercial ports Dredged material contamination was evaluated in different commercial ports from Spain: Ports of Cádiz and Huelva (Southwest), Santander (North) and Barcelona (Northeast). © Foto: BOP News   Enerkem Announces Construction Start of World's First Municipal Waste-to-Biofuels Facility in Edmonton, Alberta Slovenia: municipal waste generation increasing The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia published a new report on "The sustainable development indicators for Slovenia". Concerning natural resources, the paper offeres some information on municipal and food waste generation. Veolia helps Whitbread roll out food waste recycling scheme Veolia Environmental Services, the UK’s leading recycling and waste management company, has joined forces with hotel and restaurant chain Whitbread to roll out a food waste recycling service. Content-partners... introduce themselves iwwg - International Waste Working Group The aim of the IWWG is to provide an intellectual forum to encourage and support economic and ecological (integrated and sustainable) waste management world-wide and to promote scientific advancement in the field. This aim will be accomplished by learning from the past, analysing the present for developing new ideas and visions for the future.   to the content >>