The Aluminium Recycling Market Is at a Nascent Stage in The GCC

The aluminium recycling market is at a nascent stage in the GCC, as it is predominantly an export driven market; but it is growing.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the aluminium scrap and recycling market in the GCC was estimated at 292,281 metric tonnes in 2010 and is expected to reach 593,434 metric tonnes in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% between 2010 and 2017. The aluminium downstream industry is yet to establish itself as a major scrap procurer in this region.

The industry gets 35 to 40% from used beverage can scrap, 30 to 35% from door and windows scrap while other scrap types are engine scrap at 11%, wheel scrap at 5%, sheet scrap at 4%, cable scrap and other types of mixed alloy scraps constituting about 5 to 7%. The aluminium re-melting facilities that consume the scrap and form alloy grades based on customer requirements are majorly present in the UAE, Bahrain and KSA with few key players in the rest of the region.

Considering the region is a global player in aluminium production and a valuable source of export revenue apart from serving the booming domestic market, the GCC has planned development of new aluminium smelters in Saudi Arabia and expansion of existing smelters into Phase 2 commissioning in Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Bahrain.