Latest news with #CircularMaterials
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
From Waste to Strategic Metals: Circular Materials Achieves First Industrial-Scale Recoveries Under the Critical Raw Materials Act
PADUA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 30, 2025-- Circular Materials announces two major milestones under the Critical Raw Materials Act: the recovery from industrial wastewater of the first kilogram of ruthenium and the first ton of nickel, preventing the release of heavy metals into the environment. These results were secured through strong collaborations with two leading companies in surface treatments: LEM, core company of the LEM INDUSTRIES Group, specialized in the luxury sector, and Argos Surface Technologies Group, a leader in industrial coatings. This success comes just a few months after the European Commission recognized Recover-IT as a strategic project, confirming the pivotal role of Circular Materials in securing critical raw material supplies, increasing recycling, and reducing the EU's dependence on imports. Ruthenium and Nickel: crucial metals for a sustainable future Ruthenium, a noble metal from the platinum group, is essential for cutting-edge sectors such as advanced electronics, green hydrogen production, fine chemicals, fuel cells, and luxury goods. Nickel, on the other hand, is a critical element, essential in advanced steels and lithium batteries —pillars of the energy transition. Circular Materials' proprietary SWaP (Supercritical Water Precipitation) technology delivers exceptional effectiveness and versatility to recover precious and industrially intensive metals. A revolutionary environmental impact: carbon negative and beyond Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the process applied to ruthenium and nickel reveals a remarkable environmental benefit. For ruthenium, emissions are reduced by over 99.6% compared to traditional mining. Even more impressive is the result for nickel: the SWaP process not only reduces emissions but becomes carbon negative, actively avoiding the total CO₂ production associated with conventional methods. ' Circular Materials strengthens its technological leadership and, together with its partners, builds a solid and integrated circular supply chain capable of transformingindustrial waste into new resources, preventing the loss of critical materials,' says Marco Bersani, Founder & CEO of Circular Materials. ' With the industrial-scale recovery of ruthenium and nickel, we are shaping a strategy that reduces dependence on external sources, lowers the environmental impact of production processes, and valorizes waste streams that until now have been dispersed '. In a global context marked by the impacting scarcity of critical resources and the need to ensure a secure and sustainable supply, Circular Materials stands out as a key player in a new European industrial paradigm focused on recovering the resources the world needs most. About Us: Circular Materials Circular Materials is a groundbreaking company with proprietary technology for the recovery of strategic metals from industrial wastewater through a sustainable and highly efficient process. The company has developed and patented the Supercritical Water Precipitation (SWaP) technology, which simultaneously treats wastewater and recovers metal, eliminating toxic sludge production and significantly reducing environmental impact, both in terms of waste and emissions. For more information: View source version on Media contact: Tiziana Sarto –[email protected] KEYWORD: ITALY EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: NATURAL RESOURCES SUSTAINABILITY ENVIRONMENT OTHER MANUFACTURING RECYCLING GREEN TECHNOLOGY OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Circular Materials Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/30/2025 02:00 AM/DISC: 06/30/2025 02:00 AM
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
From Waste to Strategic Metals: Circular Materials Achieves First Industrial-Scale Recoveries Under the Critical Raw Materials Act
PADUA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Circular Materials announces two major milestones under the Critical Raw Materials Act: the recovery from industrial wastewater of the first kilogram of ruthenium and the first ton of nickel, preventing the release of heavy metals into the environment. These results were secured through strong collaborations with two leading companies in surface treatments: LEM, core company of the LEM INDUSTRIES Group, specialized in the luxury sector, and Argos Surface Technologies Group, a leader in industrial coatings. We recover what the world needs most: Circular Materials delivers first industrial-scale metal recoveries. This success comes just a few months after the European Commission recognized Recover-IT as a strategic project, confirming the pivotal role of Circular Materials in securing critical raw material supplies, increasing recycling, and reducing the EU's dependence on imports. Ruthenium and Nickel: crucial metals for a sustainable future Ruthenium, a noble metal from the platinum group, is essential for cutting-edge sectors such as advanced electronics, green hydrogen production, fine chemicals, fuel cells, and luxury goods. Nickel, on the other hand, is a critical element, essential in advanced steels and lithium batteries —pillars of the energy transition. Circular Materials' proprietary SWaP (Supercritical Water Precipitation) technology delivers exceptional effectiveness and versatility to recover precious and industrially intensive metals. A revolutionary environmental impact: carbon negative and beyond Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the process applied to ruthenium and nickel reveals a remarkable environmental benefit. For ruthenium, emissions are reduced by over 99.6% compared to traditional mining. Even more impressive is the result for nickel: the SWaP process not only reduces emissions but becomes carbon negative, actively avoiding the total CO₂ production associated with conventional methods. ' Circular Materials strengthens its technological leadership and, together with its partners, builds a solid and integrated circular supply chain capable of transforming industrial waste into new resources, preventing the loss of critical materials,' says Marco Bersani, Founder & CEO of Circular Materials. ' With the industrial-scale recovery of ruthenium and nickel, we are shaping a strategy that reduces dependence on external sources, lowers the environmental impact of production processes, and valorizes waste streams that until now have been dispersed '. In a global context marked by the impacting scarcity of critical resources and the need to ensure a secure and sustainable supply, Circular Materials stands out as a key player in a new European industrial paradigm focused on recovering the resources the world needs most. About Us: Circular Materials Circular Materials is a groundbreaking company with proprietary technology for the recovery of strategic metals from industrial wastewater through a sustainable and highly efficient process. The company has developed and patented the Supercritical Water Precipitation (SWaP) technology, which simultaneously treats wastewater and recovers metal, eliminating toxic sludge production and significantly reducing environmental impact, both in terms of waste and emissions.
CBC
03-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Municipalities set to save millions with Alberta's new recycling system
Social Sharing Hundreds of communities across Alberta are now feeling liberated from the costs of recycling. As of this week, Alberta's new extended producer responsibility programs are shifting the financial burden of recycling from municipalities to the companies that produce evaporated milk cans, cardboard cracker boxes and other recyclables. The aim is to encourage innovation among producers of recyclable items while keeping more waste out of landfills. The City of Edmonton expects to save $24 million this year alone. Taxpayers will also save money. Waste utility rates for single-family homes have already dropped by about $5 per month in Edmonton and Red Deer, more than $7 per month in Calgary, and up to $9 in Lethbridge. Outside of those savings, residents won't notice many changes, said Jennifer Koole, executive director of the Recycling Council of Alberta. "It's like the biggest launch that will be almost invisible for the common household," Koole said in an interview. The programs cover single-use items, packaging, printed paper products, plastics, metal and glass. The new rules will also apply to hazardous products, like batteries, flammable or toxic products like camping fuel and pesticides. "This is probably one of the most complex programs that any province could undertake at any moment in time," said Ed Gugenheimer, CEO of the Alberta Recycling Management Authority, which is charged with managing the new programs. "There are so many actors in this regulation and they all need to harmonize in some way, shape or form to make it work. It's probably the most difficult of the recycling programs to actually install and have working." Despite those behind-the-scenes challenges, most of us won't notice many changes. Edmonton, Calgary and most other municipalities will continue to pick up and process recyclable items. Extended producer responsibility will standardize recycling in Alberta, which will result in some municipalities being able to recycle more items than before. In Strathcona County, that means more types of plastic can now be recycled, such as takeout containers and clamshells. The main aim of extended producer responsibility is to reduce the amount of material being sent to landfill. Albertans send more than 1,000 kilograms per person of waste to the landfill each year — more than in any other province or territory. The national average is 710 kilograms per year, according to the province. The new programs are unlikely to cause significant price increases on consumer items, said Allen Langdon, chief executive officer of Circular Materials. The national non-profit helps producers, such as Kraft, Nestlé and Tim Hortons meet their obligations under extended producer responsibility regulations. While the changes will present companies with added costs, they should be small, Langdon said. "When they break it down on a unit basis, it's less than a cent a package." Adding costs to businesses during a trade war with the U.S. could be problematic, but could also benefit the national economy by providing new sources of materials for Canadian manufacturing, said Michael Zabaneh, vice-president of sustainability for the Retail Council of Canada. "Imagine if we can reuse and recycle that material, as opposed to importing that material, which would be subject to tariffs in many cases now," Zabaneh said. Koole and others in the industry hope the changes will spur businesses to innovate and reduce the amount of packaging they produce, because producing less saves them money. "I think putting the responsibility back to those that create the waste in that polluter-pay perspective is one of the best things we can do to influence change of the entire system," she said. "Feeling the pain always incentivizes people to make changes." The next phase of extended producer responsibility in Alberta is expected to roll out in October 2026. It will include communities that don't currently have recycling systems — about 10 per cent of the province, including remote regions and some First Nations and Métis communities.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Circular Materials Selected as a Strategic Project by the European Commission Under CRMA
An Italian project on a European scale recognized as strategic for the sustainable recovery of critical raw materials from waste PADUA, Italy, March 26, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Circular Materials, an Italian company specialized in the recovery and valorization of metals from industrial wastewater, has been selected as a Strategic Project under the Critical Raw Materials Act, along with 3 other projects in Italy and 46 in Europe. The CRMA aims to secure European access to strategic raw materials, by increasing recycling efforts and reducing dependency on imports. Here Circular Materials plays a key role: the company's patented innovation, SWaP (Supercritical Water Precipitation), leverages the properties of supercritical water to recover valuable metals with a 99% efficiency rate, preventing the loss of resources and eliminating the production of toxic sludges. "This is a milestone that validates our commitment to providing a sustainable alternative to traditional mining and a key driver for our scale-up at European level. We will keep working closely with key stakeholders to improve Europe's role in the responsible management of critical resources," stated Marco Bersani, founder and CEO. "We have the privilege to thrive in Italy and Europe, where institutions are demonstrating a strong focus and commitment to circularity and sustainability." Being recognized as a Strategic Project enables Circular Materials to accelerate its industrial development plan, benefiting from streamlined permitting procedures and enhanced access to public funding to establish recovery centers more rapidly across Europe. The company was founded in 2019 and backed by 360 Capital in 2020, launched its first authorized plant in Padua, where a team of 24 people recovers Nickel, Copper, Tin, Chromium, and precious metals with a processing capacity of about 1,000 tons of wastewater per year. A new plant will be installed in Italy by 2026, with an industrial wastewater treatment capacity of up to 20,000 tons per year and valorization of over 4ktpa in strategic metals, through a network of hubs in key industrial districts across EU by 2030. Aligned with the Clean Industrial Deal strategy, Circular Materials is positioned as a key partner for strategic industries—including batteries, semiconductors, defense, and aerospace—to become more sustainable and resilient towards the global raw materials challenges. About Circular Materials Circular Materials is a groundbreaking company with proprietary technology for the recovery of strategic metals from industrial wastewater through a sustainable and highly efficient process. The company has developed and patented the Supercritical Water Precipitation (SWaP) technology, which simultaneously treats wastewater and recovers metal, eliminating toxic sludge production and significantly reducing environmental impact, both in terms of waste and emissions. By harnessing the unique properties of supercritical water, Circular Materials offers a competitive, safe, modular, and versatile solution capable of transforming entire industries into sustainability leaders, reducing their environmental impact with a virtuous carbon footprint. For more info: View source version on Contacts Media contact: Tiziana Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
22-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Who pays for recycling in Nova Scotia is set to change
Recycling is changing in Nova Scotia, but it won't mean adjusting how you put your blue bags on the curb. The province is switching to extended producer responsibility, or EPR — a policy shift that puts the responsibility for recycling materials on the producers that make them. Right now, recycling programs in Nova Scotia are funded by municipalities, which means taxpayers cover some of the cost. But the shift to EPR later this year means the "producers" of packaging, paper and single-use products, including the brand holders, importers and retailers of those materials, will be the ones to pony up the cash to recycle them. As a part of the new measures, producers in the private sector were required to register with the not-for-profit recycling corporation Divert NS by January 2024. Despite the change, Nvoa Scotians shouldn't notice much difference when the program is implemented on Dec. 1, 2025, according to Alanna McPhee, the executive director of EPR oversight at Divert NS. She said recyclable materials will continue to be collected on the curb, separated and sent to end markets. Divert NS estimates Nova Scotia municipalities will save between $20 million and $25 million a year. Not-for-profit at the head of EPR operations The program is being implemented in Nova Scotia by Circular Materials, a national not-for-profit organization that represents the producers. Andrew Philopoulos, the managing director for the organization in Atlantic Canada, said as jurisdictions across the country enact EPR policies, producers are obliged to fund the programs' operations. In the beginning, he said Circular Materials will "largely be relying on existing infrastructure" to get materials processed. Circular Materials will either be contracting recycling services directly with municipalities or First Nation communities or retaining a recycling collector, he added. Meanwhile, communities can either manage their recycling services with financial and operational support help from Circular Materials, or they can opt out and Circular Materials will assume full responsibility of the program. "We're actually are undergoing a [request for proposal] process that we're in the middle of where we are planning to build a facility, or several facilities, to service both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick," Philopoulos said. Funds from the producers will be used to build the new facilities, he said, although he did not specify how much construction would cost and added that a site in Nova Scotia has not yet been chosen. There are also initiatives to tackle some of the more difficult-to-recycle materials, like candy and snack wrappers, stand-up plastic pouches and chip bags. EPR for electronics in place since 2008 EPR policies have long been been used for electronics in Nova Scotia, ever since the Electronic Product Stewardship Regulations went into effect in 2008. The Electronic Product Recycling Association, which administers the province's electronics program, receives funding from companies that make everything from laptops to toasters and refrigerators. The association then handles the recycling process. "How many different brands of electronics are in your house? ... To try to have them each individually handle their own material wouldn't be really a sustainable or efficient option," said Maylia Parker, the group's executive director for Atlantic Canada. "This way ... it doesn't matter which producer made it, they're registered with us and we're making sure that it gets responsibly recycled." Parker said the program for electronics works similarly to that for other recyclable materials. The organization works on the behalf of producers that register with the association, which charges a fee on the "break-even" cost of recycling materials. The industry typically passes on that cost to consumers, Parker said. Those funds are then used to collect the electronics, take them apart into individual pieces and sort them into recyclable categories.
