German scrap recyclers take legal action against EU export curbs, citing statutory flaws

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has called on the European Commission to reconsider plans to bar EU recyclers from exporting ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap to 16 non-OECD countries, including India and Pakistan, and to give those countries more time to address Brussels’ concerns. Of the 24 countries seeking to import EU metal scrap, only five - all in Europe - were included on the draft list, a move BIR warns could be perceived as protectionist.

Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia and Vietnam are the 16 countries on the Commission’s draft list, as the federation summarised for BIR members in September. Although BIR’s formal consultation submission does not name these countries, all have provisional approval to receive at least some other types of EU waste. For example, India could continue importing paper, wood, rubber and textiles.

• Only five applicants were recommended for approval to receive metal waste: Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine.
• Twenty-four of the 32 countries and territories seeking to continue importing EU waste requested permission to import metals.
• Hong Kong and Kazakhstan were excluded from the draft list entirely.

BIR warns that, without objective grounds from the Commission for treating each country and material stream differently, limits on recycled metals could be seen as protectionist measures designed to keep the materials in the EU. It says there is no “sufficiently clear and consistent environmental justification” for treating non-OECD countries in Europe differently from non-OECD countries outside Europe.

Under the revised Waste Shipment Regulation, the Commission must adopt the first version of the list by 21 November. The list is a key element of the rules: from 21 May 2027, exporters may send non-hazardous waste to countries outside the OECD only if both the destination and the specific waste stream have been approved.

The restrictions apply only to exports from the bloc to non-OECD destinations, so shipments to OECD members are unaffected. The UK is among them, although the EU classifies it as a third country for waste shipments. Scrap shipped from British ports to buyers in India or elsewhere will therefore continue to be governed by UK, not EU, rules.

BIR argues that the Basel Convention’s technical guidelines indicate that recycling metal consumes less energy than extracting it from ore. The federation also challenges the Commission’s rationale for subjecting metals to greater scrutiny. Although metal treatment is energy-intensive and can produce dust and fumes, some countries barred from importing metals are still allowed to receive waste glass or tyres. BIR notes that recycling glass requires high temperatures and emits nitrogen and sulphur oxides, while processing tyres can produce similar dust and fumes.

BIR argues that excluding metals despite this safeguard is disproportionate: shipments to an approved country are allowed only if the receiving facility has independently passed an audit against the regulation’s environmental criteria. The Commission’s staff working document attributes some countries’ exclusion to insufficient information on local metal-waste management. BIR says the Commission should distinguish missing information from evidence of non-compliance with environmental standards. It also asks whether countries that submit new evidence could be reassessed before the list is adopted, rather than having to wait for the next formal review, which must take place at least every two years.

BIR is urging the federation to extend the consultation period, arguing that it should last at least eight weeks and end no earlier than 13 November. The consultation closed on 16 October after only four weeks. Industries and national authorities in affected countries have told the federation that this was too brief a period to coordinate across government departments and regulators, let alone assemble detailed evidence such as permits and emissions monitoring records.

Although European recyclers sell most of their recycled metal to buyers within Europe, BIR says export markets remain vital for grades and volumes that local demand or processing capacity cannot absorb. The federation, formerly known as EuRIC, shares Recycling Europe’s warning that closing off those outlets would create growing surpluses and reduce the number of buyers. This would put downward pressure on prices and weaken the financial incentive to collect and sort scrap.

BIR recommends that the Commission assess materials and receiving facilities individually rather than excluding or approving entire countries, allowing recyclers to demonstrate compliance for specific waste streams and plants.

After the Commission formally adopts the list, the European Parliament and the Council may object within two months, a period that may be extended by a further two months.