EU adopts revised WSR, no ban on scrap exports to OECD

A European Parliament committee voted on Thursday to adopt new regulations that will place restrictions on exports of scrap metal from the EU to non-OECD countries but resisted pressure to adopt similar restrictions on exports to OECD importers.

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted a position on revisions to the European Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) that was largely unchanged from the initially proposed legislation in November 2021.

Under the amended WSR, exports of non-hazardous waste for recovery, under which classification ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal falls under EU law, will be allowed only to non-OECD countries that apply for consent and demonstrate their ability to treat waste sustainably via third-party audits.

The ENVI Committee would not commit to equivalent restrictions on exports to OECD countries, which means there is no direct restriction on exports of ferrous scrap from the EU to Turkey, the largest importer of ferrous scrap from the block by a distance.

But the Committee said the European Commission will monitor waste exports to OECD countries more closely to ensure that shipments are managed in an environmentally sound manner in line with EU regulation and that they do not adversely affect the management of domestic waste in their country.

European metals recycling trade associations told Argus that they fear this commitment to the monitoring of exports to OECD countries provides the European steel industry with an instrument to push for suspension of scrap metal exports at any time.

"Since the design has not yet been determined, there is considerable planning uncertainty and trade could be severely disrupted if bureaucratic problems arise in the course of implementation," representatives of German trade associations BVSE and VDM said.

"The tension between recyclers and producers on this issue has not yet been resolved. Unfortunately, it can be assumed that the steel and metal industry will continue to fight against metal exports."

That tension between the steel and recycling industries has grown increasingly rancorous this year as the steel lobby has ramped up calls for scrap metal to be kept within Europe in the face of soaring energy costs for steelmakers and the progression of decarbonisation plans that involve the transition from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces that consume more scrap.

European trade associations reiterated that even the restrictions imposed on exports to non-OECD countries will be harmful to the recycling sector. Non-OECD countries including India, Pakistan and China are major consumers of EU ferrous, aluminium, copper and stainless steel scrap.

A survey of 111 companies by the European Recycling Association (EuRIC) found that more than 50pc of metals recyclers expect a decrease in employment owing to the WSR revision and that more than 80pc expect a decrease in turnover, with 84pc of that segment stating that the decrease will correspond to more than 20pc of their annual turnover.

"The procedures for the export of recycled materials still classified as waste laid down in the Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) are burdensome, costly, and time-consuming," EuRIC said in a letter yesterday. "European recyclers are therefore in favour of an ambitious revision of the WSR that effectively combats illegal shipments while levelling the playing field with extracted raw materials."

Aside from the export restrictions, the WSR revision also proposes new rules to improve information exchange and transparency on intra-EU waste shipments, including the development of uniform criteria for waste classification and a requirement to digitalise the exchange of information and documents on trade within a central electronic system.

The legislation is also intended to improve the EU's ability to tackle illegal waste shipments.

The WSR amendment will now move to a vote for adoption in the European Parliament's January plenary sitting, which will form the basis for the parliament's negotiating position with EU governments on the final form of the legislation.

By Ronan Murphy