MEXICO CITY - A French company is joining Mexican investors in a venture aimed at recycling auto scrap, including plastics, in Mexico. Paris-based Compagnie Francaise des Ferrailles, which operates 70 vehicle scrap plants in France with affiliates elsewhere in Europe, Asia and the United States, plans to process cars at a plant in Ecatepec de Morelos, near Mexico City.
CFF and Mexican auto industry investors are forming a 50/50 joint venture to break down metal, plastics and other scrap. Total investment in the venture will be about US$15 million.
Initially, plastics and other nonmetal waste will be separated and used as a combustible energy source for industry. Later, said Mexican plant director Sebastian Lederman, the firm will seek Mexican companies that can use the recycled plastics.
The plant is expected to recycle up to 264.6 million pounds of scrap a year, of which 75 percent will be metal, while the remainder will include plastics and other waste.
Lederman does not expect the Mexican plant to begin recycling plastics for other than burning before 1998. He said plastics will average about 10 percent of the total scrap.
The plant is scheduled to begin operating by May.
