Asia as a growth region: projects, partnerships and market momentum

Extension of IBA contract in Singapore

In October 2025, the REMEX Group received a contract extension for the recycling of incinerator bottom ash (IBA) in Singapore. The initial contract for the development and operation of a IBA processing plant was first put out to tender by the National Environment Agency in Singapore (NEA) in August 2013 and awarded to REMEX in May 2014. At the time, the project was under enormous time pressure, as the plant in Tuas, with a capacity of around 650,000 tonnes, had to be commissioned within a very short time. REMEX Minerals Singapore Pte. Ltd. has been processing the city-state’s waste incineration slag since 2015.

In order to clean the metals recovered in the course of its recycling activities, a joint venture for scrap processing was established in Malaysia in the following years. In 2021, a metal treatment plant was added on the adjacent site. With the investment in NEO Hardware in 2024, the portfolio was expanded to include further expertise in the recycling and marketing of metals. For interested parties in the region, REMEX’s processing plant in Singapore has become one of the most important points of contact when it comes to making the best possible use of resources from IBA.

Waste management is undergoing radical change worldwide – including in the Middle East. REMEX is currently observing interesting developments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): whereas municipal waste was still being sent entirely to landfill until the beginning of this decade, it is now seen as a resource. The trend is towards separate collection of recyclables and treatment of residual waste. The turning point came in 2020 with the decision to build Waste-to-Energy plants (WtE) for waste treatment. Since then, several WtE have been commissioned, the first in 2022 in the Emirate of Sharjah. This was followed in 2024 by the commissioning of the world’s largest WtE in the Emirate of Dubai. Another WtE is scheduled to begin operating in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2027. This development is accompanied by the decision of the Emirate of Dubai to completely close its landfill site by 2030 at the latest. ‘Circularity’ – the closing of material cycles – is therefore also the current buzzword in the UAE.

This is where REMEX’s expertise in the areas of bottom ash processing, metal recovery and secondary construction material production comes into play. Several interested parties from politics and business in the UAE have signalled their interest in cooperation and visited our sites in Asia and Europe, accompanied by numerous discussions in Dubai. Our extensive experience in the production and use of secondary aggregates is particularly convincing, as our Arab business partners see this as a fundamental contribution to achieving their long-term goal of ‘zero waste’. The recovery of metal recyclates associated with processing offers additional potential – both economically and ecologically. Further waste incineration plants are in the planning stage, not only in the UAE but also in neighbouring Saudi Arabia – ideal conditions for REMEX’s long-term commitment in the Middle East.

Developments in the Middle East show that the UAE is reorienting its waste management, placing greater emphasis on waste incineration and circularity, thereby creating optimal conditions for REMEX’s long-term commitment.

For the first time, our Dutch companies Dolphin Metal Separation B.V. and HEROS Sluiskil B.V. took part in a conference outside Europe: on 27 and 28 October this year, a congress organised by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) took place in Bangkok, Thailand. The organisation for metal, paper, plastic and textile recyclers worldwide organises two international events each year with the aim of promoting exchange within the industry and connecting potential business partners. The European congress was held in Valencia, Spain, in May. The follow-up event in October offered 1,100 participants from 58 countries a networking opportunity in Asia.