India's Scrap Pipeline From Europe Could Shut in 2027. 16 October Is the Last Chance to Push Back.
A draft EU list published on 18 September 2026 leaves India out of the countries allowed to receive European metal scrap after 21 May 2027. On 24 September, the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) asked the Commerce Ministry to step in. The list is not final: comments close on 16 October and the first list is due by 21 November 2026. The outcome depends largely on whether the Commission accepts that Indian recyclers handle metal scrap safely.
Recykal Times Desk·29 Sept 2026·7 min read·9 sources
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Editorial image for “India's Scrap Pipeline From Europe Could Shut in 2027. 16 October Is the Last Chance to Push Back.”, illustrating aluminium.
On 18 September 2026, the European Commission released a draft of the non-OECD countries that may keep importing certain non-hazardous waste from the EU after 21 May 2027. India is on the list for several waste streams, including paper, rubber, textiles and mineral waste. It is not on the list for ferrous or non-ferrous metal scrap.
MRAI, an industry body that represents recycling businesses, wrote to the Commerce Ministry on 24 September asking for the matter to be taken up with the EU. The Commerce Ministry has said it remains engaged with the EU side. By MRAI's figures, Europe supplies about 40% of India's imported zinc scrap and about a fifth of its copper, aluminium and lead scrap.
This is a draft. The Commission is taking public comments until 16 October 2026, the first list has to be settled by 21 November 2026, and it has to be revisited at least once every two years.
The numbers at a glance
Indicator
Figure
EU draft list published
18 September 2026
Public comments close
16 October 2026
First list to be established
By 21 November 2026
Exports to unlisted non-OECD countries stop
From 21 May 2027
Countries that asked to stay on the list
32
EU share of India's zinc scrap imports
About 40% (MRAI)
EU share of India's copper scrap imports
About 22% (MRAI)
EU share of India's aluminium and lead scrap imports
About 20% each (MRAI)
Ferrous scrap from the EU
About 7.9 lakh tonnes out of 84.5 lakh tonnes imported (MRAI)
What the EU has decided, and what it hasn't
Under the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation, adopted in 2024, waste exports from the EU to countries outside the OECD end on 21 May 2027. India is not an OECD member. A non-OECD country can still receive EU waste if it asks to be listed and shows it can manage that waste in an environmentally sound way. India applied by the February 2025 deadline and sent more information in November 2025 and January 2026.
In its draft, the Commission accepted India for several waste streams. For metal waste, it concluded that India had not shown the material would be handled in an environmentally sound way. The Commission says metal scrap needs closer checks because it can carry persistent and toxic heavy metals, and because shredding and smelting carry their own pollution risks.
India is not alone. Malaysia and Indonesia were also approved for some waste but not for metals. The draft refuses metal waste for more than a dozen other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Only five, all in Europe's neighbourhood, are approved for metal: Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine.
Two readings of the same decision
The Commission presents the list as an environmental measure. Earlier in September, it dropped a separate plan for a 15% export duty on aluminium scrap after India, the biggest buyer, raised concerns, and it has said the shipment rules are a better way to reach its environmental goals.
MRAI reads it differently. It has called the proposal "resource protectionism" meant to keep valuable scrap inside Europe. It argues that India already has a wide set of environmental rules for metal recycling plants, and that cutting off supply would hurt small and medium recyclers most and push India towards primary metal. It wants the issue handled through India-EU trade talks, and it has asked for zero-duty scrap imports under the trade agreement expected this year.
European Aluminium, the body for EU aluminium makers, had backed the dropped export duty as a way to keep low-cost scrap in Europe, which is why some in India see a trade motive. The Commission's stated reason is environmental. For Indian businesses, the practical question is what evidence would move India from "not demonstrated" to "approved" when the list is reviewed.
Who gets hit hardest
The exposure differs a lot by metal. Using MRAI's import figures for the last financial year:
Scrap type
India's imports
EU share
Approx. tonnes from the EU
Aluminium
20.3 lakh tonnes
About 20%
About 4.1 lakh tonnes
Copper and copper alloys
4.7 lakh tonnes
About 22%
About 1 lakh tonnes
Lead
2.1 lakh tonnes
About 20%
About 42,000 tonnes
Zinc
1.1 lakh tonnes
About 40%
About 44,000 tonnes
Ferrous and stainless
84.5 lakh tonnes
About 9%
About 7.9 lakh tonnes
(Tonnages for the non-ferrous metals are our own estimates: MRAI's import volume multiplied by MRAI's EU share. EU trade data for 2025 shows about 10.2 lakh tonnes of ferrous scrap going to India, higher than MRAI's figure, because the two cover different periods and are recorded at different ends of the trade.)
Two points stand out. Zinc recyclers depend on Europe more than anyone else, with two-fifths of their imported scrap at stake. And steel is the least exposed in share terms: Europe supplies a little under a tenth of India's imported ferrous scrap, even though the tonnage is large.
Adding the five rows gives about 14 lakh tonnes from the EU, roughly an eighth of India's total metal scrap imports by weight. MRAI puts Europe's share at about a quarter. (This is our own estimate from MRAI's figures. The gap may be because MRAI's quarter is measured by value, where copper and zinc count for more, or on a different base. MRAI has not said which.)
A knock-on effect at the port
Losing EU scrap would change more than supply. Under India's import rules, metal scrap from the EU, US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand does not need a pre-shipment inspection certificate, provided it carries a supplier's declaration and lands at one of 11 named ports. Scrap from other countries needs the certificate.
In September 2026, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade tightened that certificate process and withdrew recognition of 15 inspection agencies, and importers reported delays and penalties at Mundra. If EU scrap stops, some of it will be replaced by material from countries that need the certificate, so a bigger share of India's imports would go through the stricter checks.
The UK and US are not affected by the EU rule. Great Britain left the EU and is outside the regulation. Both countries already supply large volumes of scrap to India and are the most direct alternatives, though many buyers switching at once could push prices up.
What this means for you
Importers and traders: Treat 21 May 2027 as a real date, but not a certain one. Map how much of your supply comes from EU sellers, especially for zinc and copper. Start building relationships with UK, US and other suppliers now, and check which ports and documents they need.
Recyclers and smelters: The EU says India has not shown enough evidence of safe handling. Pollution control consents, hazardous waste authorisations, emission records, radiation screening and worker safety systems are the kinds of records that can show safe handling. Plants that already have this documentation in order are in a stronger position, whatever the EU decides.
Kabadiwalas and domestic aggregators: If imported scrap becomes harder to get, Indian recyclers may lean more on scrap collected inside India. Clean, sorted non-ferrous scrap, especially copper, brass and zinc, is where demand could grow first.
CXOs and industry bodies: Anyone can comment on the draft until 16 October 2026 through the Commission's public feedback page. Specific, documented evidence of how Indian plants handle heavy metals is more likely to count than general objections.
What to watch
16 October 2026: Public comments on the EU draft list close.
21 November 2026: The deadline for the Commission to adopt the first list. India's status for metal scrap will be clear then.
India-EU trade agreement: Whether scrap access or zero-duty scrap imports end up in the final text.
21 May 2027: EU exports to non-OECD countries not on the list stop.
First review of the list: Due at least every two years, when India can apply again with fresh evidence.
The bottom line
The EU has not banned scrap exports to India yet, but its draft sends a clear signal. The decision turns on whether India can show that metal scrap is processed safely, and not only on trade talks. Zinc and copper recyclers have the most at stake, and the time left to make India's case is short.
Discussion
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