The production of metals from primary raw materials (ores) can be reduced to some extent by the recycling of metals. This leads to a saving in CO2 emissions compared to the production of primary metals. In the context of climate policy, it therefore makes sense to ensure that metal is recycled as this would reduce the production of metals from primary raw materials.
CE Delft has developed a tool for the Metal Recycling Federation (MRF) that can be used to quickly calculate the climate impact of metal recycling: the ‘MRF CO2 scan’. This tool was used for this report to calculate the total CO2 emissions and avoided CO2 emissions realised from the recycling of metal by the Dutch metal recycling sector.