Benfleet’s new recycling plant generates 99% pure aluminium scrap using TOMRA's latest sorting technology

Benfleet Scrap Co. Ltd, a scrap metal recycling specialist based in Essex, southeast England, has reportedly secured the latest and most advanced metal sorting equipment from TOMRA, called the X-TRACT™ unit, for its new metal recycling plant in Benfleet.

The new plant in Benfleet is one of the three sites owned by the ferrous and non-ferrous metal merchant. The plant, worth £2 million, began its operations in early 2023. It currently processes aluminium profile and taint tabor scrap at high throughputs without affecting product quality.

Tomra’s latest advanced technology, X-TRACT™ unit, is able to sort aluminium from heavy metals. Designed with a high-powered top-mounted x-ray source and DUOLINE™ sensor, the technology can detect and separate objects based on atomic density, delivering more accuracy and better sorting performance.

Investing in this new technology has enabled Benfleet Scrap Co. Ltd to achieve 99 per cent pure aluminium scrap and meet the market demand for the highest purity grade aluminium product.

Leo Leeman, Director at Benfleet Scrap Co. Ltd, commented: “We looked at some of the alternative technologies available on the market before choosing to partner with TOMRA and also spoke to our industry contacts, all of whom spoke very highly of the technology and, importantly, the team of experts at TOMRA. TOMRA’s machines are very reliable and robust, and the extended warranty they offer gives us an extra layer of assurance.”

He added, “We’re noticing a surge in demand for cleaner scrap metal fractions so when designing our new plant we knew we wanted to take advantage of the latest automated sorting solutions to maximise yield and purity. The plant has only been up and running for a matter of months, but we’re already a lot of interest in the recovered material, particularly when we tell customers that we’re using sorting equipment from TOMRA as their products are known to be the best in the industry. The new X-TRACT is enabling us to capture 99% pure aluminium so it’s giving us a commercial advantage to sell high grade material for use in the production of new aluminium products.”