German association again decries ‘waste’ regulation

The Berlin-based Verband Deutscher Metallhändler und Recycler e. V. (VDM, or Association of German Metal Traders and Recyclers) again has decried a proposed European Union regulation that will make international scrap trading more difficult.

In mid-January, the EU Parliament cast a majority vote to adopt a committee report on revisions to the EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation. VDM says the modified regulation “does not distinguish between types of [scrap] and thus also makes the free trade of already recycled metal more difficult.”

The critique echoes views made by other recyclers of metal and paper that the EU, in an effort to control the use or improper disposal of plastic, is making circumstances difficult for recyclers of more commonly recycled copper, aluminum, steel and cardboard.

“The plastic-centered view obscures the fact that high-quality recycled metals are an international commodity which, when used in the processing industry, contribute to the conservation of primary resources worldwide,” VDM says.

Measures such as the auditing and registration of overseas buyers have the metal recycling industry in Europe concerned that soon its processed raw materials “will only be able to leave the European market under much more difficult conditions because their goods will fall under the increasingly strict waste legislation,” VDM contends.

The association states, “The unspecified audits for buyers of copper, aluminum or steel scrap in non-European markets will again increase the density of reporting requirements and unnecessarily complicate trade, which will harm the recycling industry.”

The VDM says according to a survey conducted by Brussels-based EuRIC, of which it is a member, more than 50 percent of about 110 metal recyclers surveyed expect a decline in employment arising from the proposed revision of the EU Waste Shipment Regulation. The survey also indicates that 80 percent of metals recyclers expect a drop in sales and 64 percent “mentioned insufficient demand in the EU” as a reason for exporting to non-European markets.

“For many companies, the collapse of the international market would lead them to invest less and only process those raw materials that are in demand within the EU,” VDM says. “For us, it is therefore clear that less trade leads to less recycling.”

The VDM says the Waste Shipment Regulation revisions are not yet finalized and next will be discussed in an upcoming “trilogue” between the European Commission, Council and Parliament. “We will continue to work to ensure that international trade in metals remains practicable, despite the expected obstacles,” the group adds.