CIWM would like to use cookies to store information on your computer, to improve our website. One of the cookies we use is essential for parts of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but parts of the site will not work. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, see our CIWM Privacy Policy.

CIWM
You are here: CIWM  >  Publications  >  Latest News  >  BMRA Welcomes The First End-Of-Waste Regulation

BMRA Welcomes The First End-Of-Waste Regulation

05 April 2011

The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) hailed the European Commission's decision to reclassify recycled ferrous and aluminium as materials instead of "waste", with an aim to stimulate recycling markets in the EU, as a "landmark" decision.

The first end-of-waste regulation adopted by the European Commission is all set to remove "unnecessary administrative burdens from the recycling sector by releasing safe and clean secondary raw materials from the scope of waste legislation, and contribute to the raw materials supply of European industries."

Environment commissioner, Janez Potočnik, said: "We must start treating waste as a valuable resource, and the adoption today of these end-of-waste criteria for material streams will really boost our recycling industry and services. It marks another important step towards Europe's goal of becoming a resource-efficient economy and a recycling society."

Commenting on the news, BMRA director general, Ian Hetherington, said: "This is a landmark decision for the UK metals recycling industry and rewards 20 years of hard work by industry leaders with support from UK government.

"The reclassification of furnace-ready iron, steel and aluminium scrap as a raw material is great news for the industry and lifts some unnecessarily heavy regulatory burdens.

Ian added: "This puts UK and European metals recyclers on a level playing field in a highly competitive global market because ferrous metals and aluminium can be transported globally as a product without falling under rules such as the EU Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations."

Metals recycling is a globally competitive and environmentally important industry. It supplies secondary raw material, which preserves natural resources, saves energy and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80% in metals production.

The reclassification is particularly beneficial for the UK metals recycling industry as it exports approximately 60% of its recycled metal, which also contributes towards achieving its EU targets on end-of-life vehicles and packaging.

Krishna Buddhiraju