Dear BMRA members, partners and supporters,
As we stand on the threshold of a new year, I want to convey my warmest wishes to each one of you and express my gratitude for your ongoing support of our trade association. By working together, sharing our expertise, and embracing new perspectives, we have the potential to guide our industry towards a prosperous and sustainable future.
The global community is gradually acknowledging the vital role of responsible resource management and the circular economy in shaping a more environmentally friendly society. This recognition is compelling governments and international bodies to take action. Consequently, the number and breadth of legislative measures aimed at regulating our industry are multiplying, necessitating our continued adaptation to new standards and requirements. The responsibility lies on our shoulders to transform challenges into opportunities, to shape the regulatory landscape, and to leave a lasting impact on our world. Together, let us ride the waves of this increased legislation and emerge stronger, more resilient, and more successful than ever before.
The EA has announced its intention to tighten seven waste exemptions and three will be removed entirely, including T9. The BMRA has and will continue to express its concerns on the adverse impact these proposals will have on metal recyclers with the EA, DEFRA and the small business team within the Department for Business and Trade.
Throughout 2023, BMRA’s Technical Director, Howard Bluck, has overseen our waste classification projects. The EA has determined that both non-WEEE cables and metal shredder residues are to be assumed hazardous wastes. Rest assured that BMRA is committed to collaborating with our partners to pursue favourable outcomes for our members in every instance.
In addition, there has been a mounting push for export impediments from entities such as UK Steel, aiming to retain as much recycled metal as possible in the UK for the benefit of the domestic steel industry. Whilst we embrace the opportunity for closer collaboration with the domestic steel sector, facilitating its growth and the adoption of more efficient Electric Arc Furnaces to bolster the UK’s net zero ambitions, we are staunch in our stance that this should not come at the expense of our thriving export market. We will persist in advocating that UK metals recyclers are entitled, like any other UK sector, to equitable trading conditions.
The Secretariat's lobbying endeavours will continue at full throttle into 2024, building upon the momentum gained in 2023 as we move towards a potential General Election this year. Over the past twelve months, the BMRA has engaged with numerous key MPs, both within the cabinet and on the backbenches, and we will persist in this engagement, meeting with representatives from across the political spectrum.
There will be numerous opportunities for BMRA members to engage with the association this year. Keep an eye out for the forthcoming carbon calculator developed by Cameron Leitch and the Carbon Action Committee, which will enable all BMRA members to measure their scope 1 & 2 emissions. We encourage you to utilise this valuable new tool.
We also invite you to be on the lookout for and participate in the BMRA's theme for Global Recycling Day on March 18, 'What will you save?' by submitting your videos in support of this campaign.
Furthermore, mark your calendars for the upcoming Golf Day, set to take place in Telford on 7 June, and the Annual Dinner in November, which promise to be exciting events.
In the meantime, make sure those 40 and under in your organisation are aware of the Young British Metals Recyclers, so that they can get involved with one of the many opportunities it affords.
Our journey ahead will undoubtedly be arduous but let us not forget the achievements we have already made. We have demonstrated time and again that metal recycling is not just an integral part of the circular economy, but a vital and vibrant sector that plays a pivotal role in conserving resources and reducing environmental impact. The collective power of our industry is a force to be reckoned with, and it will carry us through these uncharted waters.
I look forward to our continued collaboration and the great achievements that await us in the year ahead. May the coming year be filled with prosperity, success and renewed opportunities for our industry and you all.
Susie Burrage OBE, President, BMRA
