"Our recycling companies are doing a good job"

One of the aims of the OptiMet project is to gain new insights into recycling processes. The aluminum association is also involved in the project and has made various suggestions. Jörg H. Schäfer explains - and criticizes - OptiMet in an interview.

"Galvanotechnik": Mr. Schäfer, what is the OptiMet project about?

Jörg H. Schäfer: The project is concerned with increasing resource efficiency in the metal industry with regard to the substitution of primary raw materials. One focus is on investigating the possibilities of alloy-specific recycling of steel, aluminum, copper and zinc scrap. Here, the investigation of different scrap fractions before and after innovative sorting and separation processes should provide new insights. The evaluation criteria include the potential savings in raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions as well as the cost structure for the production of alloys from recycled materials. In this context, OptiMet stands for the optimization of recycling material flows of metals. The project is an initiative of the Federal Environment Agency and is funded by it.

How did OptiMet come about?

In principle, the aim is to secure the supply of raw materials for Germany - a country with few raw material sources of its own - in view of the increasing demand for metals in key sectors such as the energy, transport, production and communications industries. In the future, the circular economy should be geared towards optimizing the proportion of added primary raw materials such as aluminium and its alloying elements. Optimization can take place, for example, on the basis of the further development of collection and sorting technologies.

Who has worked or is working on this project?

As is usual with such projects of the Federal Environment Agency, an advisory group with stakeholders was set up for this purpose. This includes representatives from industry, authorities and science, as well as critical stakeholders such as NGOs.

What criteria did your association contribute? What was retained and what was not taken into account?

Among other things, the research participants developed definitions and criteria for thermodynamic, functional and economically superior recycling. We have campaigned for these new definitions to be evaluated in a broader context of sustainability and for possible conflicts of objectives and synergies to be explored. Take thermodynamics, for example: what about waste with a low metal content or complex metal-containing waste, the recycling of which requires a comparatively high amount of energy? Politicians have a particular interest in recycling these materials in the context of the circular economy megatrend. Does it make sense to discredit this future task demanded by society as low-quality recycling?

What are your points of criticism?

The recycling of metals has always been common practice. We have highly specialized companies that are constantly investing in modern technologies, building up capacities and doing a good job, especially in Germany. Multiple recycling of the main metal and alloying elements through targeted use in new alloys according to quality standards and high market demand can be carried out on an alloy-specific basis, but also in the so-called "open loop". This is precisely the strength of the metal industry. After the scrap has been separated, high-quality construction profiles can be used to produce construction profiles again, for example, but also alternatively high-quality alloys for engine construction, which require very specific quality requirements. It is therefore inappropriate to speak ill of the status quo of recycling in the metal industry, especially in comparison to other non-metallic materials. To this end, one of the main demands was to focus on future optimization potential. After all, we want to develop further - in terms of raw material supply and sustainable development. However, this does not mean that our current contribution to the supply of raw materials or sustainable development is a bad thing. On the contrary.