European recyclers umbrella organisation EuRic has issued a note of concern on a report presented to the European Parliament on critical raw materials (CRMs).
The report was drafted by the Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ICRE) and EuRic expressed satisfaction with its original version issued at the beginning of the month. The organisation stated it was particularly satisfied with the lists of strategic and critical raw materials which prevented the inclusion of materials like ferrous scrap or aluminium.
However, amendments occurred around mid-month that have raised concern. “The recent last-minute endorsement for the formation of a secondary list of strategic raw materials (SRMs), with ferrous scrap quoted as example, raises several questions,” Euric writes in its latest statement. “The inclusion of ferrous scrap without sufficient data sets an alarming precedent for the unrestricted addition of materials to the list, lacking clear conditions or a methodology for assessment,” Kallanish reads.
According to EuRic, consistent data gathered over years demonstrates that steel faces no supply risk issues; it is abundant, enabling Europe’s recycling industry to meet and even exceed steel demand. Essentially, EuRic and its members fear that the inclusion of ferrous scrap will block EU scrap merchants from selling scrap to overseas markets (see separate story).
EuRic calls on the Parliament to incentivise the environmental advantages of using recycled steel scrap in steelmaking, and to promote electric arc furnace technology in Europe. This latter ambition however creates a contradiction, as increasing EAF production would require increasing scrap feed, which would be an argument in favour of export restrictions.
Christian Koehl Germany
