Scrap metal exports have been halted from EUn countries to China. China and the EU cannot agree on what constitutes ‘waste’ and ‘recyclable raw materials’.
The European Commission (EC) recently amended the EU’s regulations around the export for recovery of certain ‘waste’ materials.
Notice of the new regulation was published in the Official Journal of the EU on October 21 and the regulation came into force on November 10 this year.
In 2019 the EC sent wrote to the non-OECD countries, asking for confirmation in writing that ‘waste’ and ‘mixtures of wastes’ may be exported for recovery..
China takes a firm stance against imports of ‘waste’ and has high standards for imports of scrap metal, did not reply to the EC’s questionnaire.