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| Novelis Asia President Sachin Satpute / Courtesy of Novelis |
Novelis also educates Korean consumers to increase can-to-can recycling
By Park Jae-hyuk
Korea's environmental regulations and public awareness are still seen as insufficient to increase the recycling of used beverage cans into new aluminum cans, according to the Asia-Pacific business head of Novelis, a global producer of rolled aluminum and recycler of aluminum cans.
Novelis Asia President Sachin Satpute told The Korea Times in an interview on Tuesday that the government should be more "realistic" in setting the standards for the recycling of aluminum cans.
Since the environment ministry began making moves to classify harmless and economic materials as "circular resources" to encourage recycling, Novelis has been suggesting aluminum scrap should also be designated as a circular resource instead of a waste material, which is subject to stricter regulations.
However, circular resources are required to contain 2 percent or less of contaminants.
In other words, a 20-gram aluminum can should contain no more than 400 milligrams of contaminants in it, to be recycled as a circular resource.
Novelis has therefore advised the ministry that the maximum contamination rate should be at least 8.5 percent. The company has also educated Korean consumers on the importance of cleaning aluminum cans they used, for infinite "can-to-can" recycling, which can minimize carbon emissions.
"Used beverage cans can be recycled back into new cans only if they are in good quality, free from various contaminants," Satpute said. "Those cans that fail to make it into the closed-loop recycling process are downcycled or end up in a landfill, losing their economic and environmental value as a circular resource."
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| Novelis' plant in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Novelis |
The Novelis Asia president also unveiled the company's plans for further investments in Korea, despite difficulties caused by inflation and economic uncertainties.
"Novelis is investing more than $50 million to build a new aluminum recycling center in Ulsan," he said adding that the company has invested $40 million in debottlenecking its Korean operations to "improve productivity, quality and safety."
He attributed such large-scale investments to the significance of the Korean market, which Novelis entered in 1999 by acquiring a plant in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which celebrated 30 years of operation this year.
"Today, our Yeongju plant is a leading supplier of high-quality, low-carbon aluminum can sheet in the Asia-Pacific region," Satpute said. "The aluminum can sheet produced at the plant contains more than 80 percent recycled content, helping our customers make sustainable packaging for beverages while reducing their carbon footprint."
As a former chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea and an incumbent board member of the chamber, he gave advice to the Korean government and companies for them to enhance their ties with India, where President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit later this week.
He called for cultural and personnel exchanges, beyond business relations, for the two countries, which recently marked the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, to find even greater opportunities for the next 50 years.
"India is becoming an attractive investment destination. Also, India is a young country with a large population of the aspiring younger generation, which provides a large market base for various products," he said. "This can be a great opportunity for Korean manufacturers."
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