New EU rules could cut off aluminium scrap exports to Southeast Asian recyclers
Draft European Union rules found that Thailand, Malaysia and India haven't met environmental standards required to keep importing EU metal waste, threatening a trade that reached 1.26 million tonnes of aluminium scrap last year.
According to a piece published Wednesday by Taejun Kang on Eco-Business, a draft European Union assessment has found that Thailand, Malaysia, and India have not met the environmental conditions required to keep receiving metal waste exports from the bloc, under new rules set to apply from May 2027. The European Commission plans to publish its first list of approved countries by November 21, 2026.
Under the new framework, non-OECD countries must demonstrate that specific waste streams they import will be handled safely, on a stream-by-stream basis, rather than relying on a blanket approval. Malaysia and Thailand are major processors of aluminium scrap, with Malaysia receiving the largest share of United States aluminium scrap exports in early 2024, and both countries stand to lose direct access to a growing trade.
EU aluminium scrap exports have risen 51% since 2019, reaching 1.26 million tonnes in 2025, most of it destined for Asia. The shift reflects a broader EU push to keep more recyclable material within the bloc, particularly since producing metal from recycled aluminium uses about 95% less energy than producing it from newly mined bauxite.
Taejun Kang, Eco-Business: https://www.eco-business.com/news/eu-scrap-rules-threaten-aluminium-supply-to-southeast-asian-recyclers/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
