Boosting the Circular Management of Metals is the title of a position paper released by the combined European metals industry outlining how it looks forward to ‘an ambitious circular economy package supporting growth, innovation, competitiveness and jobs’.

The gist of the document is that using materials efficiently creates ‘more with less’ and delivers greater value for society with fewer inputs, according to Eurofer.

“Metals are perfectly suited for a circular economy as they can be infinitely recycled and are, as such, true enablers of that same circular economy,” Eurofer claims.

There are, however, a number of challenges and opportunities, according to Eurofer, for improving the circular management of metals in the economy and these include: enhanced recycling of valuable materials; formal recognition of permanent materials and the fostering of their collection; product design; the quality use of waste and end-of-life products and by-products; investment in innovative technologies to improve collection; sorting and quality recycling; and consistency across different legislations to support recycling.

The European metals industry, says Eurofer, seeks better recognition for the role of metals in circular economy, claiming that metals and metal products offer durability, conductivity, versatility and recyclability and can contribute significantly to improving sustainability in consumer and business applications.