Recycled Metal Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Copper, Steel, Aluminum), By Region (North America, Asia Pacific, Central & South America, Middle East & Africa, Europe), And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2025

Report Overview

The global recycled metal market size was estimated at 922.0 million in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% from 2020 to 2025. The market growth is driven by increasing emphasis on the secondary production of metals owing to environmental concerns such as energy consumption and scrap disposal.

Metal recycling is an important aspect as metals can be recycled several times without any alterations in their characteristics. As a result, scrap metal possesses major significance for use as a raw material for secondary production.

Recycled Metal Market Trends

Growing environmental concerns about depletion of non-renewable resources, increasing harmful emissions from manufacturing plants, and improper waste disposal have led to the growth of the recycling industry, of which metal recycling constitutes a major part. Factors such as regulations about mining ores and increasing raw material prices are propelling the demand for recycled metal. The product reduces the manufacturing cost significantly, this benefit is further favoring its market growth. 

Governments across the world are pushing for raising metal production capacity by making positive policies and providing incentives to the recycling industry. For instance, in May 2022, the Indian government signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE government. This agreement is expected to make it easier for India to import scrap from UAE. India produces 118 million tons of steel, and the country is targeting to produce 300 million tons by 2030. Thus, recycled metal is going to play a major role in achieving the said target.

Owing to the surge in demand for sustainability and reduction of carbon dioxide emission, companies are adopting the usage of recycled material, which is anticipated to boost the demand for recycled metal in the coming years. For instance, in April 2022, Apple Inc announced that nearly 20% of all materials used in Apple Inc products were recycled in 2021, and 59% of all the aluminum Apple shipped in its products came from recycled sources in 2021.

With the increasing demand for recycled metal, key market players in the industry are investing to construct new metal recycling facilities. For example, in November 2021, Aurubis AG announced that they going to invest EUR 300 million (USD 322.7 million) to develop a complex metal recycling material plant in Augusta, U.S., which is expected to have a capacity of 90,000 tons per year for recycling complex metal. The construction of the plant is expected to begin in 2022 and will be commissioned in 2024.

One of the issues with recycling metal is that some metal becomes contaminated, which makes it difficult to recycle. When metal comes under contact with harmful toxins, even if it is washed it can’t be guaranteed that all the chemical has been removed, which can prove dangerous to end-users. Thus, contaminated metal should not be recycled. Some metals such as lead and mercury should also not be recycled. Mercury is highly toxic if handled incorrectly and it can do serious damage to the kidneys, brain, and lungs. Lead poisoning can cause severe pain in muscles and joints. Metal recycling needs to be done with immense care and with appropriate precaution. 

Product Insights

Based on the product, the market has been segmented into steel, aluminum, copper, and others. Steel is the most recycled metal in the world, as a result, it accounted for the largest share of the global recycled metal market in 2018. The growing consumption of steel in construction, automotive, electronics, and consumer goods industries is projected to result in increased demand over the forecast period.

Factors including the utilization of non-renewable resources, consumption of a large amount of energy, fluctuation in raw material prices, and regulations about mining ores have compelled manufacturers to adopt the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) process over the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) process for its utilization in crude steel production. This has led to an increased demand for recycled steel across the world. The production of crude steel by the EAF process increased by 10.1% in 2018 in comparison to 2017, whereas the increase in total crude steel production was 7.04%.

Aluminum was the second-largest recycled metal segment in 2018 in the global market. Aluminum is consumed at a large scale and holds high value as scrap material. The demand for aluminum is anticipated to increase rapidly over the forecast period owing to its increasing demand in the automotive and consumer goods industries. This is a positive sign for the recycled aluminum market as more demand for aluminum leads to its increased production.

The secondary production of aluminum is gaining popularity over primary as recycling aluminum saves over 90% energy compared to primary production. Scrap aluminum constitutes a share of more than 90% in the raw material composition to produce one ton of aluminum by the secondary process.

Regional Insights

In terms of revenue, Middle East & Africa is expected to grow at the fastest rate over the forecast period. The countries across the region are trying to create a circular economy, which has pushed the investment in the recycling of metals. For instance, in February 2022, Emirates Global Aluminum PJSC announced that they are going to build the largest aluminum recycling facility in UAE. The plant is expected to have a recycling capacity of 150,00 tons per year of aluminum scrap. The production is expected to start by 2024, which is anticipated to boost the production of recycled metal in the region.

The demand for recycled metal in Saudi Arabia is anticipated to be driven by the country’s increasing attempts to move to more sustainable waste management. For instance, in September 2021, the country announced that they are going to invest SAR 24 billion (USD 6.4 billion) in waste recycling by 2035. This investment is expected to drive the market growth for the recycled metal in the country over the coming years.

Asia Pacific region had the largest revenue share of over 67.0% in 2019. The increasing concerns for the environment and proper waste management are driving the market growth of recycled metal in the region. For instance, Malaysia is targeting to increase its recycling rate by 2% each year by 2025. The country has set a target to achieve a 40% recycling rate by 2025.

China is anticipated to dominate the recycled metal production & consumption in the Asia Pacific over the forecast period. To country intends to meet its climate commitments and plans to increase its use of recycled metals such as copper, steel, and aluminum. It is planning to increase its consumption of steel scrap by 25% by 2023. This plan is expected to boost the demand for recycled metal in the country across the forecast period.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The global market is unorganized and fragmented. CMC, European Metal Recycling, Norsk Hydro ASA, GFG Alliances, Novelis, and Tata Steel are among the key recycled metal players. The presence of various small and large players, increasing demand for scrap, growing environmental concerns, and related regulations have compelled new entrants and existing players to venture into the market and explore new regions for business growth.

For example, in June 2019, Tata Steel announced its plan to set up India’s first recycling plant in Haryana. This initiative is aimed at helping the company gain an early mover advantage in the Indian market. Some of the prominent players in the recycled metal market include:

• CMC

• European Metal Recycling

• Norsk Hydro ASA

• GFG Alliances

• Novelis

• Tata Steel

Recycled Metal Market Report Scope

Global Recycled Metal Market Segmentation 

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional & country levels and provides an analysis of the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global recycled metal market report based on product, and region:

• Product Outlook (Volume, Million Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Steel

  • Aluminum

  • Copper

  • Others

•  Regional Outlook (Volume, Million Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • Russia

    • Turkey

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

  • Middle East and Africa