Global Scrap Metal Summit in Gurgaon, India

As a business option, dealing in scrap metal might sound like a drab and a relatively unglamorous enterprise. But not when one considers how close this sector has come to redefining the future of manufacturing the world over.

Around 60% of the metal produced in the United States comes from recycled scrap. India, one of the leading importers of scrap, buys 30 lakh tonnes a year from the international market every year. And this figure is set to go up further, according to scrap industry experts, who have gathered for the first time in Gurgaon for the Global Metal and Steel Scrap Summit 2012.

Two hundred industry representatives from the UK, the US and the Gulf countries are participating in the two-day event, which was inaugurated here on Monday. "India is a major global market for metal and steel scrap. Apart from saving costs, metal scrap help reduce greenhouse emissions by a significant margin. Using recycled scrap for manufacturing takes up your energy savings by 74%," said Rajeev Kumar, the convener of the summit, which is organized by the business portal Steelguru.

Scrap metal use has proved particularly beneficial for the small-scale sector, whose representatives were also present in numbers at Monday's event. "We don't have much scrap available in India, so most of it is imported from overseas sellers," said V K Arora, one of the organizers of the summit.

Among some of the other talking-points at the seminar was the country's aluminium production, and how it can attain its full potential."We also discussed hazardous scrap, and ways to ensure that banned and harmful substances don't reach the country as a part of scrap imports," added Arora.