The twenty-first Inter-national Recycled Alu-minium Conference is setting out to better the alu- minium industry’s understanding of recycling by highlighting sustainable development, says Rio Tinto, product group Rio Tinto Alcan product stewardship director Jerome Lucaes.

The conference from November 3 to 5 at Shangri La Hotel, in Dubai, is relevant for “aluminium end-users that want to innovate and improve their recycling efficiencies to reduce carbon dioxide impact and cost”, performance-enhancing technical products, integrated processing systems and consulting services provider Pyrotek sales director Richard Starczewski adds

. Globally, the aluminium recycling business continues to grow as more and more of the metal is consumed in packaging, transport, construction and other appli- cations, such as aluminium beverage cans, explains organiser of international steel and metals conferences Metal Bulletin Events.

However, the recycling business is veering towards the more rapidly developing markets – be it in Eastern Europe, Central Asia or the Asia Pacific Rim.

Imported and, increasingly, domestically generated and collected scrap are contributing to new secondary smelting and remelting capacity in these regions, as recyclers in higher-cost areas grapple with ever tighter margins, notes Metal Bulletin Events.

Europe has seen some casualties of late and long-established merchants and smelters now have to refocus and reposition to remain competitive globally and to respond to the eastwards shift in recycling growth. However, China is also seeing its costs rise, and environmental legislation is making the import of scrap and entry barriers to recycling more complex and expensive, responding to the eastwards shift in recycling growth, says Metal Bulletin Events.

While the Middle East is more readily associated with primary smelting, urbanisation, indus- trialisation and the development of a downstream fabricating sector are giving rise to a rapidly growing recycling business, states the organiser. A recent Frost & Sullivan report states that recycling tonnages in the global corporate challenge will rise from 292 000 t in 2010 to nearly 600 000 t by 2017.

How much of this new scrap source will be made available for export and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Asia Pacific Rim recycling needs will be key points for discussion at the 2013 International Recycled Aluminium Conference – the global gathering place for examining what is driving this sector at world, regional and national level, says Metal Bulletin Events.