SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: August 11-15, 2025

August 15, 2025

Gold Set for Weekly Drop as US Data Dims Large Fed Rate Cut Hopes

Gold prices gained on Friday, helped by a pullback in the dollar, although bullion was headed for a weekly fall as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data dented expectations for a super-sized 50-basis-point (bps) Federal Reserve rate cut. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $3,348 per ounce as of 0506 GMT. Bullion has lost 1.5% for the week. U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 0.3% to $3,394.30. U.S. producer prices index (PPI) rose 3.3% year-on-year in July, beating forecasts of a 2.5% gain, Labor Department data showed on Thursday. Weekly jobless claims came in lower than expected at 224,000 versus estimates of 228,000. Separately, U.S. consumer prices increased only marginally in July, bolstering hopes of a Fed rate cut. (Source: Reuters)

Steel Rebar Extends Fall on Weak China Data

Steel rebar futures fell toward CNY 3,170 per tonne on Friday, their lowest in two weeks, as the latest batch of economic data in top consumer China disappointed markets. China’s industrial production grew 5.7% in July, slowing from June’s 6.8% gain and missing forecasts of 5.9%. Retail sales also rose 3.7%, down from 4.8% in June and well below the 4.6% consensus. Additionally, new home prices fell 0.3% from the prior month, indicating weak property demand despite more local government incentives for homebuying. Meanwhile, China’s crude steel output dropped to a seven-month low in July amid efforts to curb overcapacity, while extreme heat and heavy rainfall disrupted outdoor construction. This has improved profitability and pushed steel mill margins back into positive territory. (Source: Trading Economics)

HSBC Raises Silver Price Outlook on Gold Strength, Geopolitical Risks

HSBC has updated its silver price outlook for the next three years, 2025, 2026, and 2027, citing strong support from high gold prices and safe-haven demand in the face of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. The bank now anticipates average silver prices of $35.14 per ounce in 2025, up from $30.28 previously, $33.96 in 2026, against an earlier forecast of $26.95, and $31.79 in 2027, versus $28.30 formerly. While the silver market has experienced notable gains, HSBC cautioned that the rally is “due more to silver’s relationship with gold than (to) underlying fundamentals”, with record-high gold prices exerting a “strong gravitational pull” on silver. (Source: Reuters)

Eco Waste Solutions Works with ADS to Deliver Innovative Waste Disposal System to Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)

Eco Waste Solutions (EWS), working with Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. (ADS) is proud to equip the United States Air Force with its advanced waste disposal technology, delivering a mission-ready solution for operations in the Indo-Pacific region. The EWS Expeditionary Solid Waste Disposal System (ESWDS) will provide a critical capability to manage and reduce waste burdens at a remote location within the Strategic Triangle (Hawaii, Guam, Alaska). The ESWDS offers an integrated, modular, military incinerator designed to handle both solid and semi-solid waste under austere conditions. Its scalable configuration meets the unique needs of military and expeditionary requirements, reducing logistical strain while supporting environmental compliance. ESWDS safely and effectively destroys 1,000 lbs. of waste per day. (Source: PR Newswire)

Africa’s Second-Largest Aluminum Smelter at Risk of Shutdown

Africa’s second-biggest aluminum smelter may close in March after operator South32 Ltd. is yet to secure a new electricity supply agreement before the current one expires. The company’s shares plunged. The Mozal plant, located outside Mozambique’s capital Maputo, will no longer be viable under a proposed new tariff set to replace the existing one early next year, the company said in a letter to affected parties seen by Bloomberg and verified by the company. “As it stands, negotiations are deadlocked,” Rob Jackson, vice president of supply at South32, said in the letter. “Given the impasse, the most likely scenario is for Mozal to operate until the end of the current electricity supply agreement and be placed on care and maintenance in March 2026.” For Mozambique, the closure threatens the jobs of 2,500 workers and contractors at the smelter, in a country battling with youth unemployment. Aluminum was Mozambique’s third-biggest export last year at $1.1 billion with all of it coming from Mozal. South32 on Thursday booked a $372 million write-down due to the likely shutdown. The share price traded 6.3% lower on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange at 5:14 p.m. local time. (Source: Bloomberg News)

Declaration Partners Invests in CP Group

Declaration Partners, a private investment firm, announced it has acquired a majority stake in CP Group to further facilitate the company’s ongoing growth. San Diego-based CP Group is a leading designer, manufacturer, and integrator of advanced material recovery facilities (MRFs) and sorting technologies. The partnership represents a significant milestone in CP Group’s 50-year evolution, providing the capital foundation and strategic resources necessary to accelerate innovation, expand operational capabilities, and strengthen the company’s long-standing position as the definitive sortation system leader in the waste and recycling industry. (Source: Waste 360)

Brightmark and Lewis Salvage Partnership Hits Major Milestone, Recycling Over 1 Million Pounds of Medical Plastics

Brightmark LLC, a circular innovations company with a mission to Reimagine Waste®, announced that its strategic partnership with Lewis Salvage, an independently-owned recycling company based in Warsaw, Indiana, a location with the world’s highest concentration of orthopedic design and manufacturing companies, has surpassed one million pounds of plastics recycled, successfully diverting medical plastic waste away from landfills and incinerators. (Source: Brightmark)

Dow Cancels Bohlen Chemical Recycling Plant Plan with Mura

Dow has canceled its plan to build a 120,000 mt/year chemical recycling plant for mixed plastic waste with Mura Technology at its Bohlen site in Germany, the company confirmed to Platts on Aug. 6. The decision follows Dow’s earlier announcement in July to permanently close its Bohlen steam cracker by Q4 2027 due to structural challenges in Europe. As the recycling facility would have supplied feedstock to the cracker, the shutdown cast doubt over the project’s viability. Dow said it will continue exploring other opportunities with Mura to expand its European supply portfolio and remains committed to advancing plastic waste transformation with strategic partners. The Bohlen cracker has a nameplate capacity of 565,000 mt/year of ethylene and 310,000 mt/year of propylene and has been offline since July 11, along with its butadiene extraction unit. (Source: PU Daily)

IPG Chicago Facility Achieves True Gold Zero Waste Certification

IPG, a global provider of packaging and protective solutions, announced that its manufacturing facility in Chicago, IL, has been awarded GOLD certification under the TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) rating system. This significant achievement underscores IPG’s commitment to sustainable waste management and reduction practices. The TRUE certification, administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), helps facilities measure, improve, and recognize zero waste performance by encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices that contribute to positive environmental, health, and economic outcomes. The Chicago facility has demonstrated its dedication to best practices in recycling, reusing, and reducing waste, achieving an impressive 91.6% diversion rate by recycling materials such as plastics and cardboard. The team also implemented composting, transitioned to paperless office functions, and developed systems that emphasize reuse. (Source: IPG)

Century Aluminum to Restart Production in South Carolina, Citing Trump’s Tariffs

Century Aluminum Co. will restart more than 50,000 metric tons of idled production at its Mt. Holly, South Carolina, smelter, to bolster domestic supplies as Section 232 tariffs hamper aluminum imports, the Chicago-based company said. The primary aluminum producer will invest $50 million in the effort, creating more than 100 jobs and increasing U.S. aluminum production by nearly 10%, according to a news release. The plant is scheduled to achieve full production by June 30, 2026. Century Aluminum is also looking to build a new smelter to expand domestic production. CEO Jesse Green said on an earnings call that it would double the size of the existing U.S. aluminum industry and create more than 1,000 jobs. A site has not been selected yet. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Japan May Make Recycling Handheld Fans Mandatory

Japan’s industry ministry will examine the idea of designating handheld fans powered by lithium-ion batteries as products that require recycling by makers and importers. The ministry showed at a circular economy panel meeting Tuesday a plan to launch an investigation before determining whether to make the specified resources-recycled products designation, in the wake of a host of fires caused by rechargeable electric devices during disposal work. The investigation will be aimed at finding out how the small fans, many of which are foreign-made, are distributed in the country and how they catch fire. There have been many reports that handheld fans burst into flames while being charged. The ministry will also consider whether similar designation is necessary for cordless vacuum cleaners and electric shavers using the batteries in question. Meanwhile, the panel allowed the ministry to newly designate lithium-ion battery-containing mobile phones, portable chargers and heated tobacco products as specified resources-recycled products and oblige their manufacturers to recover their products through retail stores under a government ordinance from April next year. (Source: nippon.com)

Brantford Councillors Endorse Call for Provincial Scrap Metal Legislation

Brantford city councillors want the province to do more to better protect small businesses from petty thieves. At a Tuesday committee-of-the-whole meeting, councillors recommended for approval a resolution calling for provincial legislation to address the scourge. Their decision will come before city council for approval on Aug. 26. Coun. Richard Carpenter said there has to be a penalty when people are caught committing these kinds of crimes. Brantford introduced a bylaw just over a year ago to combat the increasing problem of thieves vandalizing businesses to steal copper wire and scrap metal. The bylaw, among other things, prohibits cash transactions and make it mandatory for salvage yards to issue traceable transactions such as cheques or e-transfers for such items. It also restricts the kind of material or items that can be sold to a scrap metal dealer including wire from a utility, a street or traffic sign, manhole cover as well bronze or brass commercial valves or fittings among others. But the bylaw, although well-intentioned, isn’t generating the results councillors sought because it is only enforced in Brantford. (Source: The Expositor)

India PM Modi Vows GST Relief on Goods and Services

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that the nation will implement reforms to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the coming months. In his Independence Day address, Modi promised that the changes would provide substantial tax relief on everyday goods, raising hopes of a major cut in GST rates ahead of the festive season. The announcement has fueled expectations of a significant overhaul of the current multi-slab GST structure, in place since 2017. The present system — with rates of 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28% — has often been criticized for its complexity and compliance burden. “I am going to give a great gift on Diwali. In the last eight years, we carried out a major reform in GST; the tax was simplified… We are now bringing the ‘next generation GST reform.’ It will be a Diwali gift. Tax on common, individual services will be reduced significantly... MSMEs will benefit, and it will also help the economy,” PM Modi said, as reported by India Today. (Source: Trading Economics)