Roger Hartley, Business Development Manager from M10 Enterprise, a scrap metal recycling company that offers a scrap metal (including ELVs) cleaning and processing service, provides us with an insight into life in India with regard to the growth and sustainability of scrap metal recycling.
With a growing population and burgeoning middle-class, the Indian economy has (until the recent impact of COVID-19 reared its ugly head) been growing steadily and consistently. While having obvious benefits, this growth brings with it many challenges, and at the forefront of these are how to grow sustainably. Recycling has a vital part to play in meeting this challenge. India is a net importer of scrap as there simply isn’t enough high-quality scrap available locally to meet the demand. The recycling sector in India is large, unorganised and informal, and this makes the goal of safety and sustainability (environmental, social and economic) that much harder.
M10 Enterprise is one company that is trying to step into this gap by building long-term partnerships with yards and traders overseas and local buyers and end-users in and around their area.
Based in Gujarat, Western India, they import scrap and then clean, process and separate out the different metals supplying steel rolling mills, SS investment casting factories, copper rod manufacturers, aluminium smelters and more.
Bridging the international and domestic markets can be challenging with different rules and regulations that need to be followed and different expectations to meet. M10 Enterprise is in discussions with a yard in the Netherlands for whom they clean and process material to see how they can conform to the “Metals Sector Agreement” and are planning for a positive impact in terms of the planet, people and profits.
Recycling scrap metal is one of the most sustainable ways to meet the demand for metals while protecting and caring for our planet. It is common knowledge within the industry that recycling minimises the use of water, electricity and scarce natural resources, and reduces harmful CO2 emissions, with certain metals such as steel and aluminium being infinitely recyclable and perfect for the circular economy.
The best way to reduce waste is to start the design process with recycling-and-reuse in mind, however much of the scrap material we are currently processing from ELVs is 10+years old and this thinking wasn’t at the forefront of the design process. M10 clean by hand and are able to remove attachments and tricky to separate materials that otherwise would affect the quality of the scrap sent for melting.
The economy isn’t the only thing growing in India, the population continues to drive forward. By using labour, rather than machines, to process and segregate the different metals, M10 not only get a clean end-product for their buyers, but they create valuable, long-term employment opportunities in the local area. Certain materials need understanding and skill to be sorted which an experienced out-of-state labour team provides, while others are more easily processed by local labour – many of whom are ladies and have never had the opportunity to attend school. Employing people from this demographic of society increases the chance of the next generation going to school and of money being passed on to the family for essentials such as food and clothing.
For any business to last, it has to be making money, and the best businesses do this in relationship with both their suppliers and buyers – good relationships make good business. M10 is building long-term relationships with yards and traders from all across the globe and work in an open transparent way. From sharing the costs incurred at the port, the labour rates they pay to their teams and the current market rates for material, they see that being honest will build trust both with those who send their scrap engines, motors wheel weights etc… to be cleaned, and those who buy the cleaned and sorted metal after it has been processed.
By taking hard to clean material from overseas and supplying clean metal locally, waste is being reduced and recycling maximised.
To find out more about M10 Enterprise look them up online www.m10enterprise.com
