India urges Centre to intervene over EU metal scrap export list exclusion

New Delhi: The metal recycling industry has urged the government to take up India's exclusion from the draft list of countries to which the European Union will export ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap with the European Commission and other appropriate authorities.

The move raises concern over availability of some essential secondary raw material for manufacturing, Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) said in a letter to the commerce ministry, seeking its intervention in the matter.

The European Commission on September 18 published a draft list of non-OECD countries authorised to import specific types of non-hazardous waste from the EU under the Waste Shipment Regulation. While India is in the list, it is not approved to receive metal waste. The move, if materialised, could impact India's metal scrap supply chain, affecting recyclers, particularly the micro small and medium enterprises, raise raw material costs, and increase reliance on virgin materials, MRAI said.


India is a major global importer of scrap metal and the EU is one of its major sources. The bloc accounted for around 20% of aluminium scrap imported into the country last fiscal, besides 22% of copper and copper alloy scrap, 20% of lead scrap, and 40% of zinc scrap.

Further, out of around 8.45 million tonnes of ferrous and stainless-steel scrap India imported in FY26, 0.79 million tonnes originated from the EU. Imported metal scrap is a key secondary raw material in manufacturing as the domestic end-of-life scrap availability cannot meet the recycling demand, according to MRAI. The association has also written to the ministries of steel and mines, it told ET.

Under the revised Waste Shipment Regulation, the EU will prohibit exports of non-hazardous waste to non-OECD countries from May 21, 2027. Countries in the authorised list will be exempted. The last date to submit a response to the draft list is October 16.