SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: November 17-21, 2025

November 21, 2025

Copper Slips to 2-Week Low

Copper futures fell below $4.95 per pound on Friday, hitting a two week low amid signs of soft demand in top consumer China and expectations that the US Federal Reserve will refrain from cutting interest rates in December. According to Trading Economics, demand in China remains pressured by a prolonged property sector slump and slower power grid spending, with reports suggesting Beijing may roll out new measures to support the struggling real estate market. China’s copper cathode imports dropped 22.1% in October from a year earlier and fell 15.7% month on month. The metal also faced headwinds from signals that the Fed will adjust policy cautiously as it navigates economic uncertainty. (Source: Trading Economics)

Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD Holds Steady Below $4,100 as Fed Rate Cut Bets Fade

Gold price (XAU/USD) holds steady near $4,080 during the early Asian session on Friday, based on data from FXStreet. The upside for the precious metal might be limited as strong US jobs data dims Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut expectations. Traders brace for the preliminary reading of the US S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report, which will be released later on Friday. (Source: FXStreet)

Silver Price Forecast: XAG Slips Below $50 as Fed Uncertainty Weighs on Metal

Silver slipped below $50 per ounce on Friday, extending its pullback for a second straight session as traders reassessed the probability of a December Federal Reserve rate cut. The move comes after a five-month rally that pushed the metal from the low $30s to above $55, and the latest decline has brought price back into a critical support zone that will determine whether the wider uptrend continues. (Source: Traders Union News)

Cochilco Hikes 2025-2026 Copper Price Forecasts to Record Highs

Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco increased its forecast for copper prices for 2025 and 2026 to record highs on Wednesday amid weak production, according to Reuters. Cochilco now sees average copper prices in 2025 of $4.45 per pound and hiked its 2026 forecast to $4.55 per pound, both from a prior view of $4.30 per pound. The forecasts are the highest copper price estimates ever projected by the copper commission, which also expects the price of the metal to remain on an upward trend at least until 2030 as supply lags demand, said Victor Garay, Cochilco’s mining market coordinator. He also pointed out that risks for the metal such as tariff adjustments or a change in the demand trend are still prevalent. (Source: Reuters)

SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: November 17-21, 2025

Aduro Clean Technologies Achieves Third-Party Validation for Its Technology

Aduro Clean Technologies Inc. achieved third-party validation of its Hydrochemolytic technology (HCT) and its application in circular plastics value chains through a series of pilot-scale steam-cracking trials. The London, Ontario-based firm did not name the third-party who conducted the trials, but described the company as an “organization that designs, licenses and services large-scale petrochemical steam-cracking operations and supports global deployment of these technologies among leading petrochemical producers.” According to Aduro, the demonstration of high suitability for the extremely stringent feedstock specification of steam crackers without the need for costly post-treatment represents an important third-party validation milestone for HCT and its application in circular plastics value chains. (Source: Aduro Clean Technologies)

Sortera Scales Solution to the Mixed Aluminum Problem with $45 Million in Funding and New Tennessee Facility

Sortera Technologies, Inc., an aluminum sorting company with an upcycling platform powered by artificial intelligence, data analytics, and advanced sensors, announced the close of $45 million in funding led by accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates and VXI Capital, with participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures and Overlay Capital; with an additional equipment funding from Trinity Capital. This funding fuels Sortera’s next phase of growth as a major domestic supplier of metals upcycled from waste. In addition to the funding, Sortera is announcing plans for its second state-of-the-art processing facility in Lebanon, Tennessee. According to reports, this expansion—driven by overwhelming demand and success at the flagship Markle, Indiana facility—will bring Sortera’s innovative recycling solutions closer to its growing customer base. (Source: PR Newswire)

Rio Tinto to Reduce Production at Yarwun Alumina Refinery to Extend Operational Life

Rio Tinto will reduce production at the Yarwun Alumina Refinery in Gladstone by 40 per cent from October 2026, to extend the operation’s life until 2035 and allow time to explore further life-extension and modernisation options. With Yarwun’s tailings facility expected to reach capacity by 2031 at current production rates, this curtailment will allow another four years to explore and develop technical solutions that could further extend the refinery’s life. According to reports, Scaling back production will affect around 180 roles at the refinery, with redeployment planning underway across Rio Tinto sites in Gladstone as a key priority. The decision will reduce annual alumina production by around 1.2 million tonnes. There will be no impact to customer requirements or Rio Tinto’s other operations, with bauxite mines and aluminium smelters continuing to operate at full capacity. (Source: Business Wire)

Toyota Boosts Hybrid Production with $912 Million Investment Creating 252 New U.S. Manufacturing Jobs

Toyota’s U.S. manufacturing presence is expanding again to meet growing demand for hybrid vehicles. As a part of Toyota’s recent commitment to invest up to $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, the company announces a $912 million investment and 252 new jobs across five manufacturing plants to increase hybrid capacity and bring hybrid-electric Corollas to its production lineup. This investment in Toyota’s plants in West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri further builds on the company’s ongoing commitment to reinvesting profits in its U.S. operations. (Source: Toyota)

The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance Announces Groundbreaking Partnership with Brave Industries

The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance (PSRA), a North American coalition advancing scalable solutions to recycle polystyrene (PS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS), announced a new partnership with Brave Industries (Brave), a national consortium of independent recyclers with operations across the United States. This partnership aims to expand the collection and recycling of all types of polystyrene, including rigid non-foam applications (HIPS/GPPS) and foam formats (EPS/XPS) for processing and delivery to responsible end markets for use in new products. The initiative will launch in Denver, Colorado, and Baltimore, Maryland—two key regions at the forefront of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) implementation. PSRA will support the project with grants for collection infrastructure that allow Brave to expand their reach and capacity for collecting and recycling all types of polystyrene. With Brave’s national infrastructure of plastics processing facilities in eight states, both organizations expect this partnership to eventually scale nationally. (Source: Polystyrene Recycling Alliance)

Sephora’s Recycling Program Reaches 100,000 Pound Milestone

Sephora has reached a major recycling milestone through its Beauty (Re)Purposed Program with Pact Collective. Through the program, Sephora and Pact have collected and recycled over 100,000 pounds of empty beauty packaging. The program launched in 2023 and collects packaging in the U.S. and Canada, diverting it from landfills. An estimated 95% of cosmetics packaging is typically thrown away as it’s not accepted in curbside recycling due to size and use of mixed materials. Sephora’s Beauty (Re)Purposed program accepts any empty beauty packaging, not just from products bought in its stores. Packaging is then processed for reuse in a range of new materials, including carpet, pallets, asphalt, and new packaging, as well as energy. (Source: Beauty Packaging)

ACEN Australia’s Stubbo Solar Project Earns Solar Circularity Certification

ACEN Australia’s 400-megawatt Stubbo Solar project in central-west New South Wales is set to recycle almost a million solar panels at the end of their life, marking an Australian first for a utility-scale solar project and a major step toward a circular economy for the industry. The project, owned by ACEN Corp., is the first large-scale development to earn ‘CPVA Certified’ status from the Circular PV Alliance (CPVA), the world’s first assurance framework specifically for solar circularity. ACEN Corp. disclosed the certification to the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday. Stubbo Solar received an ‘Exceeds’ rating for its circular-economy practices, which recognize the project’s whole-of-lifecycle approach to managing materials as valuable resources instead of waste. The certification verifies that the project’s photovoltaic modules and other components have credible pathways for reuse or recycling, assessing the project across planning, procurement, operations, and decommissioning. (Source: ACEN Australia)

SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: November 17-21, 2025

EU Plans to Curb Aluminum Scrap Exports Next Year

The European Commission plans to restrict exports of aluminum scrap amid concerns that rising outflows of the resource could leave Europe short of a critical input for its decarbonization efforts. “We are launching the preparatory work on a new measure to address the issue of aluminium scrap leakage,” said EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic at the European Aluminum Summit on Tuesday. The aim isn’t to fully block aluminum scrap exports but to adopt a “balanced” measure that ensures access to adequate supplies at competitive prices, while taking into account the interests of all stakeholders in the value chain—from producers and recyclers to the downstream sector, which turns the metal into finished products. The measure is set to be adopted by spring 2026, according to the Commission. (Source: WSJ)

VACC Supports Waste Tyre Enquiry

The Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC) has formally announced its advocacy for a mandatory, co-regulated stewardship scheme designed to establish clear accountability across every stage of the tyre lifecycle—from manufacturers and importers to retailers and end consumers. The proposed initiative aims to create equitable industry conditions, ensuring all participants fulfil their environmental responsibilities. This stance is in response to the ongoing inquiry by the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation and Science regarding the Australian tyre industry’s contribution to the circular economy. Furthermore, VACC is urging the government to advance beyond investigation and implement a compulsory product stewardship scheme for end-of-life tyres, drawing inspiration from the successful model operating in New Zealand. Chief Executive Officer Peter Jones described the inquiry as long overdue, yet a positive development. He emphasized that the automotive sector requires fair regulation of waste tyre management, noting the inadequacy of current practices for compliant businesses. (Source: Tire and Rubber Recycling)

SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: November 17-21, 2025