During the plenary session of the International Environment Council that took place recently at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Convention in Valencia, Spain, speakers underlined the importance of having facts and data to contrast the introduction of export restrictions on scrap - recycled steel - in the European Union.
According to BIR’s press release, Olivier François, IEC chairman and president of the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC), debunked the three main arguments supporting recycled steel export restrictions in the EU’s Steel & Metals Action Plan, i.e., the issue of scrap availability in Europe, the lower quality of the material remaining in the EU versus the higher quality of the exported material, and the subsidies granted by the Turkish government to mills buying European scrap.
Against these statements, Mr. François pointed out that European recycled steel or scrap production every year amounts to around 100 million mt, only 80 million mt of which are consumed inside the European Union and the remaining 20 million mt are exported. Regarding the second point, according to EU statistics around 70 percent of the exported scrap is of lower quality, and the Turkish authorities have denied the third point.
François said he hopes that these arguments will be considered when taking any decision regarding recycled steel free trade in Europe, and that the ongoing debates regarding the European Trading System will stop considering decarbonization regulations and the circular economy as two separate issues.
Supporting this idea, he claimed that the next BIR publication in cooperation with multinational accounting company KPMG will clearly show this connection, involving more than 10 different recycled products. The document, as SteelOrbis previously reported, will take into account various factors such as CO2 emissions, energy consumption, water and land usage, as well as raw material usage.
