EU industry chief moves to ban waste exports to non-OECD nations

The European Union's industry chief, Stephane Sejourne, has decided to pursue a comprehensive ban on waste exports—including aluminium scrap—to countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The decision, announced by his cabinet on Friday, marks a shift from earlier plans that would have relied on trade measures to restrict such shipments.

Sejourne had been expected to unveil trade-related restrictions on September 23, but internal discussions revealed that the proposed tool would only cover roughly half of the scrap export volume. Consequently, the Executive Vice-President withdrew that approach in favour of a separate regulatory route.

The new strategy involves a delegated act under the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation. This act would prohibit waste exports, including aluminium scrap, to non-OECD destinations, with limited exceptions for certain EU candidate countries. The OECD, a grouping of mostly high-income nations, does not include major scrap importers such as China and India.

The European aluminium industry has been awaiting action since spring, with an earlier announcement delayed to September. Scrap metal serves as a critical feedstock for the EU's struggling smelters and is central to the sector's decarbonisation goals—recycling aluminium consumes 95% less energy than producing it from mined bauxite.

The proposal will first undergo public consultation before formal adoption, which is expected by the end of the year.