Plans are underway for the first comprehensive metal recycling facility in the Caribbean to begin operation in the Dominican Republic by the end of 2018:

ANDRITZ MeWa, a part of international technology group ANDRITZ, has received an order from Cibao Metal Recycling CIMER Srl, a subsidiary of the YeYo Ochoa Group, Dominican Republic, for supply of a complete three-in-one recycling plant.

It will be the first multi-functional and comprehensive recycling plant for metals and metal compounds in the Caribbean and Latin American region. Start-up is scheduled for the end of 2018.

The scope of supply comprises a compact package solution for the processing of three different input materials: car and truck oil filters, automotive parts, and electronic scrap. The equipment supplied consists of a Universal Rotary Shear UC 1300, a Universal Granulator UG 1000H, a Universal Cross-Flow Shredder QZ 1200, and the complete materials handling and separation technology.

The plant is designed to process up to one ton per hour of oil filters, two tons per hour of electronic scrap, and approximately five tons per hour of car parts and metal sheets. The oil filters are shredded down to a particle size of less than 30 mm and separated into three basic output materials: roughly 40% metals, 20% centrifuged motor oil, and 40% rubber and paper, which come out dry and fluffy. The design of the recycling plant is such that it can be extended at a later stage to process further materials.

The YeYo Ochoa Group (yeyoochoagroup.com), based in Santiago de Caballeros, is active in a broad range of businesses, including water treatment and oil production, construction, transportation, and truck maintenance.

Source: Andritz media release.

One of the challenges for recycling in the Caribbean is the cost of shipping recyclable material overseas to distant processing facilities. Hopefully having a metal recycling plant located in the region will make recycling more economically viable, and therefore more widespread.

[Image: Andrew Malone]