As Brussels pushes forward with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and doubles down on its climate ambitions, the European aluminium sector is sounding the alarm on another missing piece in the policy puzzle: aluminium scrap. The call is not new, but it is urgent. As downstream manufacturers and industry veterans univocally demand expanded inclusion of goods into CBAM framework, the European Aluminium has advocated for scrap export taxation.
Also read: EU top export destinations: Aluminium tube export rebalance as US slump & Norway-Türkiye rise
European Aluminium, the industry’s leading voice, argues that without a scrap export tax, Europe risks squandering its strongest competitive lever in the race for decarbonisation — its recycling base.
The recycling paradox
Recycling is the backbone of Europe’s aluminium economy. Roughly 40 per cent of EU aluminium consumption (around 5 million tonnes annually) already comes from recycled metal. Over the past decade, the industry has channelled EUR 700 million into new recycling furnaces, expansions, and process upgrades, adding about 1 million tonnes of extra capacity across the EU and EFTA. Today, the EU alone boasts 12 million tonnes of installed recycling furnace capacity, making it one of the most advanced secondary aluminium systems in the world.
Yet, despite the hardware, the system runs below potential. Around 15 per cent of EU recycling capacity is idled, not for lack of technology or demand, but for lack of feedstock, wherein scrap is simply leaving Europe too quickly.
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