As aluminium increasingly becomes a strategic raw material for decarbonisation and advanced manufacturing, the focus is no longer limited to primary metal production. From export restrictions and carbon pricing to import duties and circular economy measures, a growing wave of policy interventions is reshaping global aluminium scrap flows. These developments are influencing availability, pricing and competitiveness across aluminium supply chains.
When it comes to scrap leakage, Europe takes the centre stage. While in 2024 the European Union’s aluminium scrap outflow exceeded 1.2 million tonnes, in 2025 it neared 1.3 million tonnes, settling at 1.27 million tonnes.
As industrial analysts warn the administration of stricter measures to safeguard quality aluminium scrap and treat it as a strategic resource, the following nations offer a contrasting export chart:
The United Kingdom’s total aluminium scrap exports reached 623,584 tonnes in 2025, according to Customs data. These volumes have been on the rise since the start of this decade as the collection grows and the domestic recycling capacity remains largely stagnant.
Domestic manufacturing trade agency Make UK has advocated that the country needs a 25 per cent annual growth rate in recycling capacity to meet its Modern Industrial Strategy demands. It acknowledges that around 84 per cent of the UK’s aluminium scrap is still being exported today.
In January-April 2026, the UK’s aluminium scrap exports climbed 9 per cent to 217,611 tonnes from 200,374 tonnes in the year prior.