The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has warned that new EU economic and commodity strategies risk undermining Europe's industrial competitiveness and security of supply. While the EU Economic Security Doctrine and the RESourceEU Action Plan highlight the strategic importance of recycling and secondary raw materials, the BIR argues that several proposed export restrictions could have the opposite effect, destabilizing global recycling markets and limiting access to high-quality secondary resources.
The RESourceEU Action Plan sets out numerous actions aimed at increasing EU access to critical raw materials (CRM). These include new export restrictions on scrap and permanent magnet waste expected by early 2026, and specific aluminum scrap flows depending on ongoing market monitoring.
The BIR stressed that such restrictions must be based on transparent data sets, proportionality and a clear analysis of their global impact.
Measures increasing pressure on international recycling markets
In addition to export controls, several incoming requirements will directly impact international recycling markets:
- Extended EU product requirements and labeling rules for permanent magnets, including mandatory declaration of recycled content.
- Stronger incentives for recycling of pre-consumer waste.
- Improving the facilitation of transport of CRM-rich waste within the EU in accordance with
