China Leads the
World in Recycling
The
continuing growth of the Indian economy is supporting the non-ferrous sector with
higher prices for copper and aluminium scrap, according to the Bureau of International
Recycling.
The
global recycling organisation’s latest non-ferrous ‘Mirror’ reports that India is
set to be the most resilient economy among the world’s top 10 by 2027. The PHD Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, which says it is the voice of India’s trade and industry,
expects the national economy to be the fourth largest by 2026 with 6.8% growth this
year and 7.7% in 2026.
Writing
in the Mirror, Anirudha Agrawal, board member of BIR’s
non-ferrous metals division, quotes Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as saying that
foreign direct investment into India is rising sharply, with investors from the
Middle East, Japan, the EU and the USA seeing it as a top destination.
‘Strong’
copper
Agrawal
adds that aluminium scrap availability is improving but prices are still high. As
an indication, Zorba prices were at US$ 1 975 per tonne and ADC12 was at US$ 2 340,
in mid-January.
‘Domestic
demand for copper is strong. At the time of writing, Comex
is US$ 400 higher than the LME in anticipation of US tariffs being introduced by
the new Trump Administration; as a result, copper scrap is moving towards the US
market. The export ban on electrical waste from the EU has reduced scrap availability
for Indian consumers.’
Fellow
board member Shen Dong reports that China’s GDP enjoyed a better fourth quarter
growth of 5.4%, pushing the annual average to the targeted 5%. However, proposed
tariffs from President Trump are discouraging Chinese scrap consumers from purchasing
directly from US suppliers. This is creating more pressure on the raw material supply
side for China’s copper smelters, he said.
Black
mass approval
Meanwhile,
the import into China of black mass, a by-product of lithium-ion battery recycling,
has been legalised by a new national standard – GB/T 45203-2024. It was issued on
31 December with an effective date of 1 July.
According
to December data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, vehicle
sales recorded a third straight monthly increase to 3.489 million units, equating
to year-on-year growth of 10.5%. A total of 31.436 million units were sold in 2024
for an increase of 4.5% over 2023.
BIR’s
regional recycling expert for China, Ma Hongchang, reports
that the country’s recycled non-ferrous metals industry has fully implemented the
expectations of China’s 14th Five Year Plan (2021-25), delivering more industrial
enterprises, a larger industrial scale and an improved image. ‘With its irreplaceable
value in resource recycling and significant advantages in energy conservation and
carbon reduction, it has become an important component of China’s raw material security
and sustainable development, constantly presenting itself as a “sunrise industry”,’
he reports.
China’s
production of recycled metals is showing continuous growth: from 2021 to 2024, recycled copper totalled, respectively,
3.65 million tonnes (Mt), 3.75 Mt, 4.1 Mt and 4.3 Mt. Across the same years, production
of recycled aluminium was 8 Mt, 8.65 Mt, 9.5 Mt and 10.55 Mt. From 2021 to 2023,
China’s imports of recycled metal raw materials amounted to 2.72 Mt, 3.29 Mt and
3.74 Mt. Import volumes are thought to have exceeded 4 Mt in 2024.
Tokyo
blues
The Mirror includes a particular issue faced by scrap yards in Japan’s capital Tokyo.
Board member Yoko Yoshida reports that operators in the Tokyo metropolitan area
are now prohibited from creating scrap piles outside the yards, are required to
build high walls, and must communicate their actions to local residents, with local
government picking up none of the associated costs.
‘These
new regulations are heaping pressure on smaller companies lacking the finances to
make such investments, mostly long-established, family-owned businesses,’ Yoshida
says. ‘Some companies have already moved their yards outside the Tokyo area but
there is concern these regulations will ultimately be extended nationwide.’
Non-Ferrous
Division president Paul Coyte kicks off the Mirror by
reflecting that the non-ferrous metals sector faces both challenges and opportunities
as it evolves.
‘The coming year will present some clear and defining challenges, for which BIR
will be conducting its expert advocacy work on behalf of members.
‘Of particular note will be the major study produced for BIR by KPMG on the environmental
benefits of recycling which will quantify the positive impact of secondary production
when compared to the primary route.’