The UK’s aluminium recycling sector must expand by 25% every year to meet rising industrial demand and safeguard domestic supply chains, according to manufacturing organization Make UK.

Aluminium scrap plays a critical role in supplying key sectors including defence, clean energy, digital technologies, and automotive manufacturing. However, growing volumes of exported scrap are creating concerns over the long-term availability of recycled aluminium for UK industry.

Make UK reports that aluminium scrap exports have increased by 84% over the past decade, reducing the material available for domestic processing and threatening future industrial resilience. In 2024–25, exports to the United States rose dramatically after aluminium scrap was excluded from Section 232 tariff measures, increasing from 2,000 tonnes to 24,000 tonnes, a 990% surge. During the same period, approximately 200,000 tonnes were exported to India, while a further 173,500 tonnes were shipped to Hong Kong and China.

According to Make UK, domestic industry could require up to 6 million tonnes of recyclable aluminium scrap to support an overall aluminium demand of 8 million tonnes by 2035, as outlined in the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy and Modern Industrial Strategy.

Daniel Paterson, Director of Sector Specialisms at Make UK, warned that continued growth in scrap exports could force manufacturers to relocate production closer to scrap sources in the UK and EU, resulting in lost investment, jobs, and supply chain resilience.