During the international Metalriciclo exhibition on technologies for the recovery and recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals held in Brescia, Italy on May 19-21, a discussion was held on the new European Council's regulation concerning the categorization and use of metal scrap which will come into effect on October 9.
Participants at the discussion reached consensus on the crucial importance of having the same set of rules for all European Union (EU) countries. Alfredo Schweiger of the Italian steelmakers association Federacciai said that Italy has an important historical presence in the ferrous scrap markets, since more than half of the steel produced in Italy comes from electric furnaces. In 2010, ferrous scrap consumption of local Italian mills reached 18.2 million metric tons, of which more than four million metric tons was imported.
According to the new rules, metal residuals can be treated as commercial scrap if they correspond to the following criteria: a) the material must come from a production process relating to goods or services; b) it has to be clear that the material will be used to produce new virgin metal; c) the material must not be changed in its main properties, but it must be used directly (obviously, it can be cut, shredded, etc.); d) the material must comply with health and environmental protection laws.