Topmost Scrap Exporters Stop Intake from Third Parties

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): UK’s leading scrap exporting firms Sims Metal Management and European Metal Recycling (EMR) have temporarily suspended collection of ferrous and nonferrous scrap from third parties. This is in response to government’s call for strict implementation of ‘social distancing’ in its fight against COVID-19. Meantime, collections from industrial customers will continue unaffected.

According to Sims, the company will provide services to manufacturing suppliers involved in production of essential hospital equipment or other tools that are critical to prevent the spreads of the virus. The company noted that it is only a temporary measure and that it will closely monitor the situation in order to bring about necessary changes in policies.

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Also, EMR noted that it has stopped accepting retail scrap from the general public effective March 24^th. Accordingly, it will accept materials only from registered EMR business accounts. Further, the company has decided to reduce the number of on-site employees and stop manual handling of material.

According to industry participants, the decision is likely to have significant impact on scrap volumes, as third party deliveries generally account for up to one-fifth of the total ferrous scrap flows.

Several other ferrous and nonferrous scrap recyclers and exporters too have announced similar control measures.