Recycling of end of life products containing ferrous components Economic aspects

While the articles [M 7 059] and [M 7 060] deal more specifically with the quantitative aspects of the issues at stake, and then with the technical aspects of recycling consumer goods containing ferrous products, this article deals with the economic aspects and outlines the outlook for the future.

The first paragraph develops these economic aspects, highlighting in particular the trade-offs that now need to be made between market laws and regulations.

At EU level, directives on products and waste, translated into the laws of the various member states, guide and frame the development of existing and new recycling channels. This is beneficial overall for the preservation of our environment, by reducing the volumes of waste to be disposed of, substituting recovered materials for terrestrial resources, generating energy savings, thanks to the shortening of production processes, and overall reducing CO ₂ emissions.

As far as iron-containing products are concerned, however, these new provisions are often a source of new constraints, adding costs to an already well-established industry. This is the disadvantage of having been ahead of the game, requiring adaptation, whereas other materials, having everything to create, can take these new data into account from the outset.

The second paragraph deals with the future outlook for the entire theme, and reflects on the attractions, strengths and risks for the ferrous products industry and all recycling-related business sectors. This new and favorable context is introduced by the notions of sustainable development and the circular economy, but within a highly fluctuating economic framework, resulting from the instability of prices and availability of raw materials for extraction - ores, coal and oil - in competition with recycled materials.

Recycling is in fact the result of an industrial maturity in developed countries, which are seeking to solve both their environmental problems and their dependence on raw materials extracted elsewhere than on their own soil.

Recycling is struggling...