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Cuba's Scrap Metal
Recycling Meant Over 100 Mill Savings
HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 10
(can) Cuba saved at least US $95 million during 2008, thanks to the
recycling of scrap metals done by Cuban factories as a contribution
to the iron and steel industry.
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Jorge Luis Batista, head of the Scrap Material
Recycling Enterprise Union told ACN news agency that 306,347 metric
tons of scrap metal were collected during 2008, up 7.2 percent over
the previous year.
Batista explained that the Recycling Enterprise is working on
increasing its collection levels to satisfy the high demand coming
from the two main Cuban iron and steel plants: Antillana de Acero
and Axinox Tunas.
"We are not satisfied with the results so far. There is still
greater potential in many facilities and entities that have not
fulfilled their commitments established for recycling of materials,"
said Batista.
"We lack enough specialized equipment for the dismantlement of
obsolete industries, besides our hoisting and transportation
equipment often breaks down, a reason for us to be investing heavily
on buying new ones" Batista pointed out.
According to the specialized website
www.scrapmetalpricesandauctions.com, during 2008 scrap metal
prices skyrocketed around the world, reaching a 500-plus dollars
mark per metric ton of heavy metal scrap (HMS) 1-2, averaging around
420 dollars per ton during the year.
Three devastating hurricanes hit Cuba in the second half of 2008,
destroying and damaging some 500,000 homes as well as industries,
storage facilities, hospitals and schools. Thus, construction became
a top priority to the Caribbean country.
Basic construction materials like rebar, corner pieces and others
are expensive to produce since they require iron ore and carbon,
added to huge amounts of energy to process them. Cuba has neither
iron nor carbon, so the scrap metal recycling is the only local
source available to satisfy its construction material demands.
Recycling also helps preserve the environment, which is a priority
of the Cuban government and people. The recycling doesn't only
include metals, but also paper, glass and plastics, and nationwide
measures are taken for this purpose, to save on imports and make
better use of natural resources.
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Ministry
