The European aluminium industry strongly supports more ambitious recycling targets and a gradual phasing out of landfilling. Together with better collection schemes and innovative sorting technologies, these are the preconditions for an effective and successful circular economy.
EAA director general Gerd Götz states: “Bold policy measures are needed to secure the availability of aluminium scrap in Europe, a key resource for increasing recycling rates and one of Europe’s energy security components. We are calling for investment and innovation in the fields of collection and sorting, as well as greater consistency in reporting procedures, clearer definitions of recycling and the recognition of aluminium as a ‘permanent material’.
Stopping illegal scrap exports and reducing scrap leakage is also essential to reduce Europe’s dependency to resource and energy imports. The first and minimum step would be to set up credible metal scrap export monitoring systems.”
Recycling aluminium saves 95% of the energy needed for primary production. Because of its high scrap value the recycling of aluminium is economically viable and helps to reduce and even offset the extra investment costs of collection and sorting. Europe is the worldwide leader in the recycling of aluminium and to further increase recycling rates, scrap must remain as much as possible in Europe.
EAA full position paper featuring six key recommendations for an ambitious EU waste policy can be found on the European Aluminium Association website.