Towards sustainable recycling: A role of ESM

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Towards sustainable recyclingA role of ESM?

• Joint Study Groups Workshop on Metals Recycling
• St Petersburg, 10-12 September 2003
• By Guy THIRAN (Eurometaux)

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Content

• Non-ferrous metals recycling a sustainable
  business
• Obstacles and incentives!
• Towards fair trade and competition
• What role for ESM?

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Non ferrous metals recycling a sustainable
business

• International legislation still addresses
  recycling solely under an environmental
  perspective
• Excessive constraints in term of trade control
  and treatment permit conditions
• No consideration for the socio-economic and
  environmental benefits of recycling
• Metal recycling is key to metal production
• Scrap, ashes and residues raw material and not
  waste
• Sustainable activity
• Metals are infinitely recyclable
• Energy and resources savings
• Key in product policy (design) encourage use of
  metals
• Recyclability and recycling must be promoted
  rather than penalized
• A business perspective must prevail in any policy
  development
• The complexity of the regulatory environment
  affecting recycling must be reduced

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Eurometaux Recycling Issues Matrix
1 high business impact, 2 medium business
impact, 3 low business impact
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Recycling Cartography
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What does Business need?

• Understanding and recognition by the
  international authorities that non-ferrous metals
  recycling is not just about managing waste!
• Create the regulatory and international trade
  conditions that maximize the environmental and
  socio-economic benefits of recycling
• gt major contribution to sustainable development

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International trade distortions!

• The metal scrap market is severely disrupted
• Competitive distortions arise from
• Export taxes in Russia
• Market mechanisms and trade policy in India
• Preferential VAT system in China
• Subsidy and protectionism practices contrary to
  WTO and EU-Russia PCA agreements
• Other non-ferrous raw materials increasingly
  affected by similar competitive distortions

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Dramatic consequences!

• Best performers are deprived of access to
  secondary raw materials
• EU Copper production Primary Secondary
• mid-90s 45 55
• 2002 60 40
• Cu scrap exports from EU
• 1995 170,000 t
• 2002 339,000 t
• Treatment capacity is closing (USA, 235,000 t Cu
  production in the EU, ) in the very markets
  where scrap arises
• Recycling channel for complex materials is in
  jeopardy
• Questions
• How to restore fair competition?
• EU protectionism and export tariffs?
• Is it sustainable to get rid of best performers?

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A role for ESM?

• A tool towards sustainable trade and sustainable
  operations
• The key pillar of the Basel Convention!
• Prevent materials to be shipped to sites with
  poor EHS performance
• A serious challenge
• From a virtual concept to a workable reality
• Is there enough political will?

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ESM some suggestions

• No reason to restrict it to hazardous materials
• It is not the raw material of an industrial
  process that determines its impact on man and
  environment!
• Instrument to be developed at international level
• Involve developing countries
• Common basic management requirements (basic does
  not mean minimum!)
• Additional sectorial elements
• From good practice to best technologies (ISO)
• Technical guidance documents
• Effective responsibility of Basel authorities
• Local governments and export control authorities