Trade body UK Steel has published a major report calling for millions of tonnes of scrap steel to stay in the UK where it can be used boost the fight against climate change
Trade body UK Steel warned shipping waste metal overseas for processing could jeopardise plans to transform the sector in the coming years. It fears exporting scrap to countries with lower environmental standards could fuel carbon emissions. It wants the waste steel to stay in Britain so it can be used in plants being converted from coal-fired blast furnaces to greener electric arc systems.
As steelmakers in the UK and abroad journey towards decarbonising, steel scrap will become an increasingly sought after raw material, with global demand expected to rise by 30% by 2030 and over 60% by 2050
Scrap steel is the main “feedstock” for the less-polluting furnaces. UK Steel director-general Gareth Stace said: “It just makes sense that, here in the UK, we make the most of this resource which we have in abundance rather than letting it go and importing raw materials instead. Exporting huge volumes of this precious material only creates a bigger carbon footprint and means we are shirking our environmental responsibilities.
“Steel scrap is core to our rapid transition to net-zero. Next to major government funding commitments and competitive industrial electricity prices, scrap policy is the final piece of the jigsaw to enable the decarbonisation of the UK steel sector and a low-carbon, circular economy.”
The steel industry is blamed for 14% of the UK’s industrial emissions and 2.7% of all Britain’s greenhouse gases. Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant is due to switch to electric arc furnaces, while British Steel plans new electric systems at Teesside and Scunthorpe, Lincs, as the sector tries to slash emissions.
Some 80% of the 10 million tonnes of scrap steel generated in Britain every year is sent abroad. More than half goes to countries which are not in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and which, critics say, have “lower social and environmental protections”.
The report proposes three key action points to help step up the UK’s environmental obligations and safeguard the vital scrap supplies needed for UK net zero steel production:
- Uphold standards by only allowing scrap exports to countries that can demonstrate their ability to treat waste sustainably.
- Incentivise retention of scrap to meet domestic demand by reducing price support offered to scrap exports through the Packaging Recovery Note framework.
- Incentivise and support greater processing of scrap to improve quality such as through R&D funding, removal of VAT on high quality scrap, and inclusion of scrap and the minerals it contains in the Critical Minerals Strategy.
