SunSirs: EU Plans Total Ban on Waste Exports to Non-OECD Countries; Aluminum Scrap Fully Included in Ban

According to a staff team statement released on September 4, EU Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourne has finalized the latest policy plan, intending to launch new regulations to comprehensively ban the export of all types of waste to non-OECD countries, with aluminum waste officially included in the scope of the ban.

This policy has undergone a major upgrade compared to previous market expectations. Previously, the industry generally predicted that the EU would only introduce targeted aluminum waste export restrictions, which were scheduled to be officially submitted for implementation on September 23. However, internal EU assessments showed that a single aluminum waste restriction measure could only cover half of waste export scenarios, with limited control effectiveness and poor implementation results. Therefore, the authorities decided to completely withdraw the original single-item restriction proposal and expand the scope of control.

It is reported that the new proposal will develop an authorization act based on the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation, with the core rule being a comprehensive ban on the export of all waste to non-OECD countries, with only some EU candidate countries being exempted. Since major global importers of waste and recycled raw materials such as China and India are not part of the OECD high-income economies, they will be the main targets affected by this new regulation. Public consultations will be launched before the proposal takes effect, and it is expected to complete the final review and implementation by the end of this year.

As the policy progresses towards implementation, there are obvious divergent views within the European industry. The European Aluminum Association fully supports the export restriction policy, and further calls on the EU to impose a maximum export tariff of 30% on waste to strengthen the closed-loop utilization of local resources. Meanwhile, the Bureau of International Recycling and the Confederation of European Recycling Industries hold an opposing attitude, arguing that the core reason for the high EU waste exports is the weak local terminal demand and the large capacity gap in mixed waste treatment. Blindly imposing trade barriers will seriously impact the economics of the regional recycling industry and cause the loss of industry jobs.

In addition, in response to the EU's new regulation, India submitted an official memorandum in June this year, clearly warning that a comprehensive waste export restriction measure will directly impact the stability of its domestic recycled metal industry chain and cause negative impacts on regional industrial development.

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