Organizations urge free trade for ferrous scrap

The Federal Association of German Steel Recycling and Disposal Cos. (BDSV) says it has worked in close cooperation with the Brussels-based European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) and two other German recycling associations on a position paper urging the European Union to reconsider proposed EU Waste Shipment Regulation revisions that could damage the market for ferrous scrap.

The BDSV says it was consulted, along with the Association of German Metal Traders and Recyclers (VDM) and Germany’s Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Management (BVSE) to create a document designed to emphasize “the importance of free trade in steel scrap for a climate-neutral steel industry.”

The associations characterize Europe as a world leader in steel recycling, and say EU specifications for the definition of ferrous scrap grades introduced since 1995 help supply steel mills in Germany with sufficient scrap.

“Depending on the process, the recycled materials replace or complement iron ore and, their use results in significant carbon savings in steel production and [in] an efficient circular economy,” BDSV says.

While authors of the EU directive revisions seem to have as a goal to keep ferrous scrap on shore in Europe, BDSV says, “The supply of recycled steel scrap has structurally exceeded demand in Europe for two decades, so there are no supply shortages or no need for trade restrictions.”

The organization continues, “Every year, an average of 90 million metric tons of steel scrap is used to produce steel in Europe.” Of this, says the group, 80 percent is used domestically by European steel producers while about 20 percent is exported, “in particular to countries that use the electric arc furnace (EAF) route for steel production, such as Turkey.”

Whether EU officials have concerns about supplying German mills or those in Turkey as that nation rebuilds, the BDSV says any trade restrictions that suppress prices will have an unintended effect. “The volume [collected] is highly dependent on the market and the economic cycle,” the association says.

“Trade restrictions disrupt functioning market processes and lead to reduced availability of recycled steel scrap," the BDSV adds. "The strategic autonomy of the European circular economy chains will be permanently impaired. Steel scrap is the decisive secondary raw material on the way to climate neutrality.”