Metal waste recycling solutions

Why metal waste recovery matters more than ever

Scrap metal is one of the most valuable and recoverable UK waste streams, with a critical role to play in reducing carbon emissions, improving resource security and lowering dependence on virgin material extraction.

The UK generates around 11–11.5 million tons of scrap metal each year, with key sources including:

Yet despite scrap metal’s value and recyclability, up to 80% of UK waste material is exported abroad for processing, constituting a significant environmental and economic loss.

Complex, contaminated and mixed loads – often lacking viable dismantling routes – together with fragmented collection infrastructure, also reduce resale or reuse value.

Meanwhile, regulation is tightening. The UK Government is urging industries to take greater responsibility for their end-of-life metal through a series of recent measures, including proposed mandates for recycled materials in infrastructure projects and increased scrutiny of Scope 3 emissions.

There is, consequently, ever-growing pressure on UK businesses to close the loop on scrap metal recovery, and challenging market dynamics in 2025 have raised the stakes further. Volatile commodity prices and sector consolidation have tested the resilience of even the largest scrap metal recycling players, underscoring the importance of choosing a stable UK-based partner that can weather the storm.

Frictionless, compliant UK collections for metal waste

MYGroup provides a fully integrated, end-to-end scrap metal recovery service for UK clients, including manufacturers, industrial sites, construction and demolition contractors, local authorities and other public-sector organisations, as well as small trades.

Clients can deposit materials at our specialist metal treatment and recycling facility in Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire, equipped with a fully calibrated weighbridge, or request collections nationwide.

Unlike many traditional scrap metal partners who collect and export waste, MYGroup manages the entire recovery and reuse process in-house, ensuring full transparency and value recovery in domestic supply chains.

The closed-loop process that begins at our Sherburn in Elmet facility minimises carbon emissions and ensures UK industries benefit from materials that would otherwise be lost abroad or in landfill.

• Weighing, grading, sorting and contamination removal
• Advanced shearing, baling and volume reduction
• Segregation of ferrous and non-ferrous fractions
• Safe handling and extraction of embedded hazardous materials

All recovered metals are processed to high-purity specifications and routed to UK steel mills, foundries, aluminium refiners and manufacturing partners.

For engineered or branded assets, MYGroup also offers full destruction and material tracking to meet duty-of-care and brand-protection obligations.

Beyond MYGroup’s standard recovery processes, the transformation of metal waste grades unfit for reuse in supply chains is led by MYGroup’s ReFactory business, which specialises in creative re-use and design for B2B and consumer markets. From crafting some of the world’s most sustainable retail displays and point-of-sale to building one-of-a-kind furniture pieces out of reclaimed materials, ReFactory ensures that no metal waste is deemed ‘unrecyclable’.

Complementing this, MYGroup established Exiled, an upscale fashion, accessories and homeware brand. Exiled rescues redundant textiles and fabrics and remanufactures them into timeless, high-quality products – saving these materials from landfill. Many of Exiled’s designs incorporate recycled metal elements (for example, as buckles, fastenings, or trims).

For organisations seeking to go beyond regulatory compliance and materials recovery, MYGroup’s SchoolCycled™ programme offers a powerful and measurable opportunity to invest in and inspire the next generation.

SchoolCycled is MYGroup’s nationwide education initiative that helps primary schools and trusts embed sustainability into the curriculum. The scheme teaches pupils about recycling, resource efficiency and the environmental impact of waste, giving young people a practical understanding of the circular economy. Opportunities to tailor resources, lessons and school- or trust-wide activities are available to MYGroup’s clients.

The scheme offers clients a unique opportunity to sponsor or part-fund this growing programme, demonstrating strong ESG and social value outcomes, while strengthening community partnerships in the areas where they operate.