The UK metals recycling industry is at the forefront of the green agenda and is a great example of how the efficient use of resources can create jobs, save valuable and finite raw materials and dramatically reduce emissions.
UK metal recyclers are at the centre of processing these important materials and, every year, recover around 13 million tonnes of metal from many items which were traditionally sent to landfill including three and half million cookers, fridges and other white goods, eight million automotive batteries, five billion food and drink cans and two million cars (more than anywhere else in the EU).
But more needs to be done to work towards governments vision of zero waste and to maximise the potential of the metals recycling industry. With the right legislative framework and policy in place, the metals recycling industry can continue to lead the way in developing materials recycling and recovery and at the same time limit outlets for stolen material.
Year on year, the metals recycling sectors strategy of high-risk investment and continuous process innovation has increased recycling rates. Already we are seeing high recycling rates over 85% of End of Life Vehicles (ELVs) is recovered including materials such as rubber and plastic with many of the industrys players recovering far higher proportions.
With recycling and recovery targets rising, further investment in technology and infrastructure is required urgently. Provision for new facilities must be made in the planning system and Government support is vital to secure investment in new technologies such as generating energy from post-recycling residues.
International trade
The UKs 5.6 billion metal recycling industry produces far more metal than can be used by domestic metal producers, making the UK one of the largest recovered materials exporters, and accounting for close to half of Europes ten million tonne annual metals trade.
The environmental regulations, to which the industry is subject, are disproportionate given the fact that metals recyclers are largely processing high value recovered materials, not waste. Moves emanating from Europe to impose export restrictions on recycled metals, in the interests of preserving scarce European resources, need to be resisted whilst the End of Waste mechanism already in place for steel, iron and aluminium should be extended to all materials.
The UKs metal recyclers should be able to trade on a level playing field with other major recycling nations who already treat secondary metals as materials. They also need fair trading conditions in the UK: currently they are undercut by the hundreds of unlicensed and un-permitted sites which have a commercial advantage over legitimate businesses. They undermine the industrys reputation and bring untold damage to our environment whilst also providing a market for stolen materials.
Enforcement
An overhaul of the regulatory structure is urgently required along with a crack-down on illegal operators. Adopting the metals recycling industrys recommendations will help Government to ensure that law abiding businesses can continue to make a valuable contribution to the UK economy and meet impending EU recycling and recovery targets.
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