Recycling
Umicore’s feed for its flagship recycling operations in Hoboken, Belgium, comes primarily from secondary sources (industrial by-products and end-of-life materials).
The business group’s resource efficiency (use of recycled plus secondary sources) is the highest in the Group. The operations offer the ultimate example of closing the materials loop and using the infinite recyclable properties of metals to the maximum. Recycling involves significantly less energy use (and greenhouse gas emissions) per kilogram of recovered metals than primary production (mining) and recycling of precious metals is likely to become even more important given the potential physical constraints on precious metals supply from primary sources and the projected increase in demand for precious metals for use in applications such as automotive catalysts and fuel cells.