UK Recycling Industry Calls for Open Copper Scrap Trade Amid Limited Domestic Processing Capacity

Published: Aug 26, 2026 09:09

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The UK recycling industry is calling for continued access to global scrap markets as governments increasingly seek to retain strategic secondary materials domestically. Enicor Executive Chairman Tom Bird said the UK currently lacks sufficient domestic capacity to process all of its recovered metals, with brass and certain copper scrap grades particularly reliant on export markets. Restricting trade before sufficient domestic processing capacity is established could depress scrap values and weaken recycling incentives.

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