1. What Are Secondary Raw Materials?
A 'secondary raw material' is any material that has been recovered from end-of-life products, manufacturing offcuts or post-consumer waste and is sold into a downstream production process. Aluminium UBC bales fed into a Korean secondary smelter, copper Millberry returned to a Belgian refinery, and HMS 1&2 charged into a Turkish electric arc furnace are all secondary raw materials.
The value of secondary raw materials lies in two things: lower embodied energy (and therefore lower embodied CO₂) than virgin equivalents, and a stable feedstock for producers in regions where ore is not available or not economic.
2. Energy and Emissions Savings
Per tonne of refined metal produced, the indicative savings are striking: secondary aluminium ~13 MWh vs ~17 MWh for primary, ~95% energy saving and 8–9 t CO₂e avoided; secondary copper ~3 MWh vs ~15 MWh, ~85% energy saving and 3–4 t CO₂e avoided; secondary steel ~1 MWh vs ~4 MWh, ~70% saving and 1.5–2 t CO₂e avoided.
These numbers vary with the grid mix at the smelter — a Norwegian aluminium remelter on hydroelectric power has a different footprint than a coal-fired Asian one — but the relative advantage of scrap over ore is consistent across every grid in the world.
3. EU Policy: CBAM and the Circular Economy Action Plan
The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) phased into full enforcement in 2026 for aluminium, steel and other carbon-intensive imports. Importers of primary metal into the EU must purchase CBAM certificates to cover the embedded emissions of the material. Recycled metal made inside the EU carries no such cost — a structural advantage that has lifted scrap demand across the bloc.
Alongside CBAM, the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the Critical Raw Materials Act set explicit targets for higher recycled content in aluminium, copper, steel and battery materials. The policy direction is locked in for the medium term.
4. Demand from Low-Carbon Smelters
Smelters around the world are commissioning low-carbon furnaces specifically designed to run on a higher share of scrap input. Indian secondary smelters in Gujarat and Maharashtra have added capacity for UBC and extrusion; Vietnamese aluminium remelters are scaling up; Turkish EAF mills run almost exclusively on scrap; Korean copper refiners are expanding Millberry intake.
The result is a structural pull on European scrap supply that did not exist a decade ago. Buyers committing to long-term volumes lock in pricing and supply security in a tightening market.
5. The Role of an Organised European Exporter
Sustainability claims at the smelter depend on the chain-of-custody upstream. A buyer claiming a 95% recycled-content product needs traceable evidence that the input was actually recycled, properly inspected and properly documented across the export route.
Nautica Metal Scrap B.V. supports buyer ESG reporting with full traceability documentation: yard intake records, third-party inspection certificates, weight certificates, and Annex VII movement documents that together prove origin and recycled status.
6. Sustainable Supply Chains in Practice
Sustainable supply is not only about the metal — it is about consistent, predictable, documented flow. That means stable monthly volumes against long-term contracts, transparent LME-linked pricing, third-party-inspected quality, and a single point of accountability when something needs to be resolved.
The companies that win in a circular economy are the ones that treat scrap supply as a long-term industrial partnership, not a series of spot trades.