UAE recycles five million tonnes of scrap metal annually

The UAE's position as a major hub for the global multi-billion dollar scrap metal recycling industry will be a key feature of the inaugural Green Middle East exhibition and conference, to be held from 17-19 October 2011 at Expo Centre Sharjah.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have established themselves as regional centres of activity for the sector, with industry sources estimating total volume for the UAE at five million tonnes per annum, closely followed by Saudi Arabia with three million tonnes. The UAE also refines and re-exports some 70,000 to 100,000 tonnes of non-ferrous metals every month, with an annual turnover of $4.5bn.

With sustainability presenting a major challenge - and opportunity - for local and regional governments committed to fast-tracking infrastructure development over the next five years, the economic and environmental benefits of metal recycling are highly appealing.

The aluminium re-melting and refining process uses just 5% of energy requirements, and produces a mere 5% of carbon dioxide emissions as compared to primary production, while also helping to reduce the amount of landfill waste. Scrap metal recycling can also be repeated without the degradation of base properties, unlike other recyclable materials such as paper and plastic.

Recycling one kilogramme of aluminium saves up to six kilogrammes of bauxite, four kilogrammes of chemical products and 14KW of electricity.