The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) has stated that, contrary to growing concerns about scrap metal availability, the real threat to the European steel industry lies elsewhere: soaring energy costs and weakening competitiveness. Backed by data from the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC), which confirmed Europe’s scrap availability is more than sufficient to meet domestic demand, EuRIC is calling for a shift in focus from material access to economic sustainability and energy strategy.
According to the JRC, the EU’s scrap supply is expected to grow from 100 million mt to 112 million mt by 2035, while post-consumer scrap could reach 80-90 million mt in the same period. In 2023, EU scrap consumption dropped to a decade-low of 75.1 million mt, leaving a scrap surplus. EuRIC said, “Scrap availability is far greater than what’s being used in Europe. Recyclers are not the bottleneck - the steelmakers are not using the scrap that’s already here.”
EuRIC stated that the real issues the European steel industry is facing are lower steel prices and production costs that are skyrocketing due to high energy prices, resulting in a decline in the industry’s competitiveness. The confederation stated that these issues are direct results of plateauing global demand and non-market overcapacity. “To stay competitive, we need to tap into our circularity advantage. Europe is rich in scrap or better said, recycled metals, and instead of focusing on trade barriers, we should be turning this surplus into our competitive edge,” the EuRIC said.