The US has enough recycled aluminum

Due in large part to Recycled Materials Association members’ continuous innovation and increased efficiency, recyclers in the United States process more recycled material each year than can be consumed by domestic manufacturers.

This is true across all categories of recycled materials, including recycled steel, copper, aluminum and paper, and will remain true for many years to come.

While some industries are calling for so-called “targeted” export restrictions because they do not believe there is not sufficient recycled feedstock, the U.S. generates substantial volumes of recycled aluminum in a wide range of grades and specifications—and significantly more than it can consume domestically.

The reality is we have plenty of recycled aluminum to meet domestic and international consumer needs.

So why do we export some recycled aluminum? It’s mainly lower-grade mixed materials that need specialized refining. Our domestic facilities focus on the premium grades that keep U.S. manufacturing running strong.

Recycled materials meet a significant percentage of manufacturers’ raw material input needs, making our industry a critical component of the manufacturing supply chain as well as overall economic resilience.

Recyclers are essential to sectors like automotive, construction, defense and packaging, so it is critical that we maintain market access to absorb what domestic manufacturers cannot.

Beyond meeting domestic manufacturers’ demands, U.S. recyclers contribute to American prosperity by exporting billions of dollars of high-quality recycled materials globally. Each year, about 30 percent of domestically processed recycled materials are exported, supporting 50,000 American jobs and offsetting the U.S. trade deficit.

In 2024 alone, the U.S. exported 32 million metric tons of recycled materials valued at $28 billion, according data from to the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. International Trade Commission. This makes the United States the world’s largest exporter of high-quality recycled materials and positions U.S. recyclers as a crucial first link in the global manufacturing supply chain.

Without reliable access to global markets, recyclers would be forced to make decisions resulting in decreased investments in U.S. operations, their workforces and local communities.

Restricting global market access through export controls not only would disrupt the industry’s ability to operate efficiently but also weaken the ability to provide valuable recycled inputs for domestic manufacturers.

Export restrictions also would hurt U.S. national security because without a commercially viable recycled materials industry, U.S. recyclers would be unable to provide domestic aluminum mills the inputs to help fuel the 80 percent of aluminum produced domestically using recycled content.

Which brings us back to the key underlying point—the data and facts do not support the imposition of export restrictions for this material. Recycled aluminum already plays a critical role in our country’s manufacturing supply chains, critical infrastructure, national security and economy.

America’s recycled aluminum supply is solid and growing. We’re not facing shortages; we’re managing abundance.

Robin Wiener is president of the Recycled Materials Association.