Against the backdrop of accelerated global advancement in the circular economy, the recycling industry is expanding from mere resource recycling to diversified value. As a renowned information service platform for China’s non-ferrous metals sector, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) has long focused on the recycling segment, building a comprehensive service ecosystem for renewable resource recycling that encompasses data, news, price benchmarks, industry conferences and supply-demand matchmaking. The annual Battery Recycling and Circular Industry Conference (GBRC) organized by SMM has grown into one of China’s largest and most influential industry events in the renewable resources sector. Meanwhile in Brazil, across the ocean, a non-profit organization is interpreting the social value of recycling in an alternative way: repurposing scrap materials into tools for robotics education to open the door to the digital world for children in public schools. Founded in 2016, Sementes do Vale is a non-profit organization dedicated to sports, culture, education, technology, vocational training and social psychological support. Its flagship initiative, the e-Ducar (Educational Robotics with Scrap Materials) , centers on the dual pillars of "recycling plus education" and reduces educational inequality by democratizing access to digital education for students and public schools through educational robotics, computational thinking for understanding Artificial Intelligence, and STEAM methodology. To date, the programme has served 38 public schools across 7 cities in 2 Brazilian states, trained 164 teachers, and directly benefited 4,331 students. More importantly, it is not a one-off workshop, but rather a path designed so robotics enters the school and stays there, even after we leave. How It Works Four Steps, One Complete Ecosystem E-Ducar project 's core competitiveness lies in its design of a fully integrated implementation pathway that covers everything from teacher training to teaching materials, from hardware to curriculum standards, ensuring that schools can independently conduct robotics courses even after the project withdraws. Step-1: Teacher Training The heart of the project. Free in-person training for public-school educators: robotics fundamentals, block-based programming, computational thinking, and how to integrate everything into the school curriculum. Step-2: Materials and Video Lessons Each teacher leaves with a complete pedagogical kit: ready-to-use lesson plans, an e-book, hands-on activities with scrap materials, and video lessons on YouTube. Everything is open, free, and permanently available. Step-3: Free robotics kits Each partner school or education department receives robotics kits to use in classes with its students. Step-4: Aligned with Brazil's national curriculum Digital education became mandatory by law in Brazilian schools, and the project materials were structured to support this adaptation through educational robotics, computational thinking, and STEAM methodology. Robotics Is a Right, Not a Privilege for the Few Robotics is a right, but it reaches very few. Even with Law No. 14,533/2023 guaranteeing the right to digital education, most Brazilian public schools have never offered a robotics class. e-Ducar was born to change that statistic, one classroom at a time. From the perspective of the recycling industry, this also represents a deep extension of circular economy principles into society: at the industrial end, scrap metals and waste electronic components re-enter the industry chain through regenerated smelting, while in the education sector, they can similarly be creatively reassembled into tools for inspiring the next generation’s interest in technology. Just as SMM has long advocated the concept of "full life cycle resource circulation," the value of recycling is reflected not only in metal recovery rates and economic benefits but also in the long-term value of sustainable development. Support the Project If you are an educator, school leader, education department, or company that wants to support us, let's talk. Robotics from the Sertão can be where you are. Building Communication Platform Between China and the World: SMM Supports Global Circular Science Education Public Welfare As a professional information service platform serving the global renewable resources and battery recycling sectors, SMM has long dedicated itself to research on recycled metals and lithium battery recycling as well as building platforms for industrial supply and demand exchange. Beyond these core businesses, SMM has consistently incorporated sustainable public welfare initiatives into its long-term corporate social responsibility strategy. SMM will continue to monitor non-profit organizations worldwide that deliver inclusive science and technology education using recycled materials. The e-Ducar programme stands out as an exemplary social innovation that SMM supports. Backing non-profit organizations such as Sementes do Vale to advance the e-Ducar initiative not only fosters inclusive education and mitigates educational inequality across Latin America, but also serves as an effective channel for the industry to popularize circular economy knowledge and disseminate sustainable development concepts. Moving forward, SMM will keep building communication platforms between industrial players from China and overseas non-profit organizations, encouraging more recycling enterprises to participate in cross-border science and education support programmes. By leveraging industrial expertise to empower equitable sustainable education globally, SMM will fully implement integrated ESG practices that deliver environmental benefits, social value and long-term development.

South Korea plans to require mandatory reporting for exports of scrap metals and non-ferrous metals, including copper scrap, to prevent illegal overseas shipments of recyclable resources. Authorities noted past cases where copper scrap was disguised as ordinary scrap metal and smuggled to China, contributing to domestic supply shortages and procurement difficulties.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade has issued Ministerial Decision No.105 of 2026, introducing a four-month temporary export ban on certain industrial wastes and scrap metals, including aluminum scrap under several HS 7602 codes. The measure takes effect seven working days after issuance, while shipments under previously signed international contracts may apply for exemptions. Aluminum scrap was previously subject to an export fee of AED 100/t (US$27/t). The move reflects the UAE's efforts to retain raw materials domestically and promote local value-added processing, with potential implications for Asian scrap markets, particularly India and South Korea.

According to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade's Ministerial Decision No. 105 of 2026 and the latest feedback from traders, the UAE officially published and implemented a temporary export ban on certain industrial wastes and metal scraps on 3 June 2026, for a duration of 4 months, precisely targeting iron, aluminum, and copper scrap. SMM learned that the core objective of this policy is to retain raw materials domestically; notably, copper ingots are explicitly exempted to encourage high-value-added exports. Given that the UAE had previously imposed a fixed export duty of USD 109/MT on copper scrap, which had already severely squeezed direct export arbitrage margins, this ban will have a limited marginal impact on the copper scrap market. Instead, the primary impact will be concentrated on the copper alloys, such as Honey, Ocean, and Gun metal. From the perspective of global trade flows, the main Asian consumption destinations for UAE scrap are India and South Korea. Due to China's stringent import standards for recycled materials and the historically negligible volume of direct scrap shipments from the UAE to China, this new regulation is expected to have virtually no substantial impact on the Chinese domestic scrap metal supply.

As resource security and decarbonization become increasingly important, major economies are strengthening efforts to retain aluminum scrap. From the EU's review of export controls and the U.S. strategic asset proposal to Japan's circular economy initiatives and policies in the UAE and South Africa, these developments could reshape global scrap flows and affect secondary aluminum markets.

On May 12, the 2026 SMM (3rd) Global Renewable Metal Industry Chain Summit & Battery Recycling Forum , organized by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), drew to a successful close at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel in Tokyo, Japan! Following the event, SMM arranged an overseas field trip for delegates. The delegation paid visits to renowned local recycling enterprises in Japan to learn about operational practices and technological advancements in Japan's recycled non-ferrous metal sector. On the afternoon of May 15, the delegation visited KINKI SANGYO CO.,LTD. and received a warm welcome from the firm’s management. Company Profile KINKI SANGYO CO.,LTD. has grown steadily since its founding with the support of numerous partners, always adhering to the core objectives of responding to the needs of the times and driving industrial development. As its business scale has expanded, the company has gradually established a solid industrial foundation in the field of metal resource recycling and built a stable supply system covering both China and ex-China markets. Headquartered in Izumi-Otsu City, Osaka Prefecture, with a sales office in Izumi City, the company maintains high-standard professional operations throughout the entire process—from the procurement and processing of metal scrap to sales and export—and is committed to contributing to industrial development in Japan and the broader Asian region. The company is well aware that sustained corporate growth depends on trustworthy quality and efficient management. To this end, the company has fully implemented and obtained ISO 9001 certification, the quality management system established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Through this system, the company has established rigorous operational procedures and quality control mechanisms, ensuring that product quality remains consistently stable and reliable, and guaranteeing the continuous supply of high-grade metal raw materials that meet the requirements of steelmaking enterprises and other partners. The spirit of continuous improvement advocated by ISO 9001 has also become part of the company culture, with all employees constantly pursuing greater efficiency and superior quality in their daily work, with enhancing client satisfaction as their shared goal. In terms of business philosophy, the company adheres to a "people-oriented" approach, believing that talent is the most fundamental resource of an enterprise. The company encourages employees to continuously enhance their capabilities, closely integrating personal growth, corporate interests, and social value, earning the trust of partners through honest management and steady development. The company actively promotes open cooperation, establishing long-term and stable business relationships with various industries in and outside China, while continuously exploring new market opportunities to build a broader and more solid international network for the future. Looking ahead, KINKI SANGYO CO.,LTD. will continue to leverage its professional expertise, international vision, and rigorous quality management system to continuously strengthen its comprehensive competitiveness, contributing to socioeconomic development, resource recycling, and broader international cooperation. This visit was an important practice of SMM in building an international recycled metals industry exchange platform, creating a bridge for direct dialogue and experience sharing between Chinese and Japanese enterprises. Through on-site observation and face-to-face exchanges, attendees gained in-depth understanding of KINKI SANGYO CO.,LTD.'s technological advantages, operational management experience, and market positioning strategies in the recycled metals sector. They gained particularly valuable insights in areas such as refined processing of scrap metals and collaborative operations across the entire industry chain, providing valuable references for Chinese enterprises to optimize production models and enhance technological capabilities.