EGA explores new avenues for waste management in partnership with Befesa

First international shipment of spent pot lining sent to specialist recycling company

United Arab Emirates, 13 August 2017: Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has shipped around 5,000 tonnes of spent pot lining, a by-product from its industrial process, to Befesa, a company in the United Kingdom that specialises in waste management and recycling.

Befesa will treat and recycle the spent pot lining to create useful raw materials for the cement, fibreglass and ceramics industries.

Spent pot lining is the worn out inner lining of aluminium smelting pots. The lining is typically replaced every four to five years.

The global aluminium industry produces over one million tonnes of spent pot lining every year according to industry experts, much of which is then kept in indefinite storage.

EGA aims to recycle all its spent pot lining over the longer term and the shipment to Befesa, which is EGA’s first internationally, accelerates this process.

EGA has supplied spent pot lining to UAE cement plants for use as a feedstock since 2010. Last year local cement plants used over 37,000 tonnes of EGA’s spent pot lining, more than EGA’s average annual production.

Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “Ultimately our objective is to use all our spent pot lining here in the UAE in ways that are both responsible and create additional value for the UAE’s industries. We are making great progress with the cement industry, creating benefits for both sectors. Meantime, to achieve the highest standards of responsibility, we must also find economic uses for our spent pot lining internationally.”

EGA aspires to be measured amongst the world’s leading metals and mining companies in meeting its environmental responsibilities.

Earlier this year, EGA became the first Middle East headquartered company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, a global programme to foster greater sustainability and transparency in the aluminium industry.