The analysis also finds that a full transition to steel produced via electric arc furnaces could lower the sector’s emissions footprint by 38 per cent.
The assessment was carried out by environmental consultancy Tunley Environmental and represents the first comprehensive evaluation of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for the UK metals recycling industry. Its purpose was to establish a detailed emissions baseline and to assess potential pathways for alignment with the UK Government’s legally binding net zero target.
The findings are summarised in the association’s roadmap, Recycling Today for a Greener Tomorrow: A Roadmap to Net Zero for the UK Metals Recycling Industry. According to the analysis, substantial reductions are achievable not only for direct emissions from operations and purchased energy, but also across indirect emissions within the value chain. When upstream and downstream activities, including smelting and refining by steel producers, are taken into account, total emissions associated with the sector could fall by approximately 70 per cent.
The assessment identifies technology shifts, fuel substitution and infrastructure upgrades as central levers for emissions reduction. It also concludes that the pace and scale of decarbonisation will depend on supportive policy and financial frameworks. In its roadmap, the association outlines several policy measures intended to address these requirements. These include extending eligibility of metals recycling companies to industrial competitiveness schemes, incentivising the use of low-carbon fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil through fuel duty adjustments, improving access to affordable finance for grid connections and power upgrades, and integrating recyclability- and recycled-content-based fee modulation into forthcoming reforms of producer responsibility regulations for batteries, end-of-life vehicles and electrical equipment. The roadmap further highlights the importance of adopting science-based standards for steel production that recognise and do not disadvantage recycled material.
Overall, the assessment concludes that UK metals recycling has the technical potential to achieve deep emissions reductions and to contribute materially to national net zero objectives, provided that investment conditions and regulatory frameworks are aligned with the sector’s decarbonisation requirements.
Read the roadmap and the carbon assessment
