tena acquires stake in Italian WEEE recycler

A subsidiary of the Swedish recycling group Stena Metall has become the main shareholder of the Italian e-scrap management specialist S.i.a.t. (Societa Italiana Ambiente e Territorio) based near Brescia. "It is a strategic decision to strengthen our presence in Southern Europe. It also means that the collaboration with the European Recycling Platform is deepened", commented Phär Oscár, managing director of Stena Metall's WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) division Stena Technoworld. The company did not disclose financial details of the transaction, which also involves three Italian local authority-owned utility and environmental services companies.

Recovery of HCs from waste electronics

The European Commission is seeking to loosen or completely eliminate the need to remove hydrocarbons from waste electrical equipment, which up until now was part of the WEEE Directive.

The RAL Quality Assurance Association (QAA) has written to Stavros Dimas, the EU commissioner for the environment, criticising the commission's plans and explaining that the proposed changes would have a negative impact on the environment and on climate-protection goals.

In December 2008, the European Commission published its proposed amendments to the WEEE Directive.

At the time, the RAL QAA welcomed the fact that these proposals contained no changes to the directive requirements regarding the treatment of waste refrigeration appliances that contain hydrocarbons.

However, RAL was astonished to learn that attempts are now being made to use the Technical Adaptation Committee (TAC), which meets in closed session, to completely eliminate the need to remove hydrocarbons from waste refrigeration equipment.

A commission document that was sent to the members of the TAC for discussion in December 2008 contained the following passage: 'The following items could be considered to be deleted from Annex II: hydrocarbons - as they have a global warming potential below 15, for which extraction and treatment would not be environmentally beneficial.' From a scientific point of view, the commission's proposal is unacceptable and should be rejected.

EU Commission, industry clash over electronic waste collection

European Commission and business representatives squabbled over whether to make manufacturers pay for collecting consumers' waste yesterday (29 January), during a debate on the proposed review of an EU directive on recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

In one of the first public debates on the Commission's proposal to recast the WEEE Directive, business and Commission representatives clashed over the way to revise rules for old electronic products.
In the wake of the EU executive's proposal, published in December, electronic equipment manufacturers have already expressed concern that the review will result in added costs for business without no real trade-offs.

Meanwhile, the Commission refers to the review as "an opportunity for EU companies to innovate and have access to valuable raw materials" and underlines its intention to cut red tape and reduce related costs for industry.

Biodiesel from fish waste in Vietnam

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has launched a three-year project to create biodiesel from fish waste called ENERFISH. The project involves the construction of a of a biodiesel processing plant next to Vietnamese fish processing plant Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC in Vietnam, and a cooling system based on the use of carbon dioxide. The EU is funding the project while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland is financing the demonstration equipment in Vietnam.

'Using waste from the fish processing industry as a renewable energy source can be turned into a highly profitable business operation. The project partners aim to generate significant business during the project lifetime,' says Aulis Ranne, Senior Research Scientist at VTT.

The fish industry is huge in Asia and Vietnam is an ideal testing place. Other organisations involved in the project are TÜV Rheinland (Germany), Technofi (France), NEF - the National Energy Foundation (UK), Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC (Vietnam), Preseco Oy (Finland), Vahterus Oy (Finland), ECC - Energy Conservation Center for Hochiminh City (Vietnam), RCEE Energy and Environment JSC (Vietnam) and AFI-Industry JSC (Vietnam).

'We became interested in the project because it is an opportunity for us to take into use latest technology, and to reduce environmental hazards caused by the production,' says Mr Nguyen Van Phan, President and General Manager of Hiep Thanh Seafood JSC.

Tires Recycled into Construction Blocks

A company called PMGI/Productive Recycling recently announced that it had devised a new method of disposing of discarded tires from the automotive industry. Roughly 300 million used tires are generated in the United States alone every year, and they amount to one of the most hard to solve problems the country is faced with it, from an environmental standpoint. Most of these tires reach the landfills, where they take up precious space, and also house different pests. In addition, they pose a very high fire hazard and release dangerous chemicals, including carbon dioxide, if they are burnt.

The managing Director of the company, Gerald Harrington, says "Scrap tires are not only a waste of valuable landfill space but a more serious waste of what is now a viable resource. To illustrate the magnitude of the used tire problem the governments, Solid Waste Management, reports indicate, there is one scrap tire produced for every three people in the United States."

"We see our process to provide a value to the community in which they [consumers] live. This is through the reduction of scrap-tire stockpiles therefore reducing insect and rodent habitat and the fire hazard," the representative adds.

The new technology, called T-Blocks, compresses tires with concrete to create a very resistant material, which can be used for a variety of purposes. According to PMGI/Productive Recycling, T-Blocks would make a valuable addition to flood control, wetland reconstruction, and soil erosion control. The material would also be suited for building slope protectors and prevent mudslides. Building foundations could also benefit from stabilizers made from the new material, especially if they are built in tremor-sensitive areas.

Stena acquires stake in Italian WEEE recycler

A subsidiary of the Swedish recycling group Stena Metall has become the main shareholder of the Italian e-scrap management specialist S.i.a.t. (Societa Italiana Ambiente e Territorio) based near Brescia. "It is a strategic decision to strengthen our presence in Southern Europe. It also means that the collaboration with the European Recycling Platform is deepened", commented Phär Oscár, managing director of Stena Metall's WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) division Stena Technoworld. The company did not disclose financial details of the transaction, which also involves three Italian local authority-owned utility and environmental services companies.

Use of advanced trading techniques surges in Asia – Celent

Electronic trading volumes grew rapidly in Asia between 2004 and 2007, as more exchanges developed and enhanced the functionality of their trading platforms, according to a new report on buy-side execution of securities trades from research and advisory firm Celent.

Hong Kong saw particularly strong growth, with the value of securities trades executed electronically increasing at a compound annual rate of 71% from $403 billion in 2004 to $2 trillion in 2007. Over the same period, Australia’s electronic trading volume leapt 43% year-on-year from $393 billion to $1.1 trillion, and Japan’s rose 25% from $3.2 billion to $6.1 billion.

As well as technology investment by exchanges, Celent cites wider adoption of the FIX protocol, development of direct market access and algorithmic trading tools, and demand from non-domestic firms, as key factors in the overall increase in electronic trading volumes.

SmartPool gets FSA approval to launch on 2 February

Smartpool, a European non-displayed trading venue operated by exchange group NYSE Euronext, has received approval from the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) to launch on 2 February as planned.

Smartpool will provide block trading services in 15 European markets, including those in which NYSE Euronext operates a primary exchange. The MTF is also backed by banks J.P. Morgan, BNP Paribas and HSBC. LCH.Clearnet and EuroCCP will provide central counterparty services. Smartpool has been registered by NYSE Euronext as a multilateral trading facility under MiFID and will be regulated by the FSA.

The dark pool will offer routing to NYSE Euronext’s central order book, allowing clients to find matches on Euronext’s lit markets in Lisbon, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels without revealing any trade information. Market participants who are already on NYSE’s Universal Trading Platform, the exchange group’s single point of access to its cash and derivatives platforms, will have automatic access Smartpool.

TradingScreen targets Australian growth

TradingScreen, a provider of trading systems and related services, has opened an office in Sydney, Australia.

The new office will offer sales and support for the firm’s local and international clients.

“Australia has observed sustained growth in terms of the number of traditional asset managers and hedge funds based in Sydney and Melbourne who are seeking the leading trading tools for use in international markets,” said Nathan Walker, head of south-east Asian and Pacific, TradingScreen. “Australia’s investment managers are recognised as sophisticated users of technology and this easily lends itself to TradingScreen’s low-latency, highly customisable execution management platform.”

Instinet enhances Australian post-trade capabilities

Instinet, a global agency-brokerage owned by Nomura Holdings, has secured membership on the ASX Settlement and Transfer Corporation (ASTC), the settlement processing facility of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Instinet Australia Clearing Service Pty, a subsidiary of Instinet, has been clearing and settling client trades for the last three months. According to Instinet, the membership will complement the Australian trading services it offers to clients via Instinet Pacific, based in Hong Kong.

Instinet Pacific has had full remote membership to the ASX in September 2007, allowing it to offer direct execution of ASX-listed securities via its Newport execution management system, alternative trading platforms, global algorithms and agency-only services.

LSE and Tokyo growth market moves forward

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) have taken another step toward establishing their joint venture TOKYO AIM, a new market for growing companies in Japan and Asia.

The two exchanges today published the rulebook for TOKYO AIM for public comment. The rulebook was developed following consultation with market participants and sets out regulations for securities on the market and the rules for nominated advisors (J-Nomads).

Similar to the LSE’s regulations for its existing growth market AIM, J-Nomads will be required to assess companies’ suitability for the market, both prior to admission to TOKYO AIM and on an ongoing basis, while they are listed.

TOKYO AIM is set for launch this spring, subject to regulatory approval by the Japanese Financial Services Agency.

Companies listed on TOKYO AIM will benefit from the potential to reduce costs as a result of a principles-based regulatory approach that does not demand compliance with J-SOX, the Japanese standards for financial reporting, or the filing of quarterly accounts and the use of International Accounting Standards and US GAAP, in addition to Japanese GAAP.

RTS extends DMA service to Nasdaq Dubai

Realtime Systems Group (RTS), a trading solutions provider, is to offer its clients connectivity to Nasdaq Dubai, formerly known as the Dubai International Financial Exchange.

RTS clients will benefit from direct market access (DMA) to the full range of products listed on Nasdaq Dubai, including equities, derivatives and structured products. Following its one-third acquisition by Nasdaq OMX, the global exchanges group, Nasdaq Dubai launched the first equity derivatives platform in the United Arab Emirates in November 2008.

DMA access to Nasdaq Dubai will be afforded via RTS’s entire trading solutions portfolio, including RTS Tango, its automated algorithmic trading solution, which is now connected to all three Dubai-based exchanges.

"As we look forward to attracting new listings from around the world and from this region, we are very pleased to welcome firms and individuals who make use of RTS' advanced technology,” said Peter FitzGerald, COO of Nasdaq Dubai. “We have worked diligently to create a world-class infrastructure and to foster growing access to the exchange globally through real-time, low-latency connectivity."

BATS hits non-US rivals out of the ballpark

BATS Exchange has become the world’s third largest stock exchange by value traded in its first full month of trading as a regulated US national securities exchange.

For December, BATS reported $552.26 billion in notional value traded, a level only exceeded by US rivals New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, according to figures supplied from BATS internal sources.

Launched as an ECN (electronic communication network) in January 2006, BATS Exchange fully converted to national securities exchange status in November 2008.

According to the World Federation of Exchanges, the Tokyo Stock Exchange traded $333.68 billion in notional value during December, followed by the Shanghai Stock Exchange ($229.46 billion), London Stock Exchange ($202.53 billion) and Euronext ($189.27 billion).