Bringing together key people from across the industry and membership.

The BMRA Secretariat is supported by member volunteers who sit on different groups and committees to help understand how  best to advise members.

The BMRA committees have a number of functions. They are there to help members navigate, meet and abide by the many legal and health and safety requirements as well as policy issues that govern the metals recycling industry.

They also manage our membership communications and processes, as well organise membership events and ensure that the BMRA is present and heard by the wider industry and community. They are formed should a specific need of the industry be identified in other committee meetings, for example VAT or Education and Training.

The Legislative and Policy Group, or LPG as it is known, is made up of key people from across the industry and BMRA membership. “The committee is tasked with identifying main areas of national, European and international legislation that impacts on the sector, taking a proactive approach to influence the decision-making processes to protect the interest of BMRA members on a national level,” said Mark Vaughan, chairman of the committee. “It also provides a sounding board for our representatives within our European confederation, EuRIC, on European matters.”

Over the years, the committee has helped the BMRA achieve a great deal in a number of key areas. For example, it ensured sensible outcomes for shredder operators as they come into the scope of the IED.

The committee has enabled fruitful discussions with the Environment Agency regarding a number of things including: sector-specific guidance on Fire Prevention Plans; demonstrating that depolluted ELV remain non-hazardous and a non-pops, despite a shift in waste classification policy; and, helping to secure permissible and workable limits for flame retardants in recovered durable plastics.

More recently, 2019-2020 has been a period of waste classification. This time last year, we successfully navigated the world of brominated flame retardants in ELV plastics and are now actively seeking to ensure that non-WEEE waste cables can continue to be recycled, despite their probable hazardous waste status.

Mark added, "Before COVID-19 struck, we were about to commence a six-month sampling programme to determine the waste classification status of shredder residue. We anticipate that, all other things being equal, work on this will start later this year. "We are also helping to inform the provision of the ELV Directive, promote the circular economy and assist our colleagues at a European and International level – EuRIC and BIR – on the amendments of the Basel Convention, ensuring that the new definition of recycling includes mechanical processing."

Waste classification and testing has been an important project led by the LPG.

Being at the heart of a truly sustainable business sector, the BMRA offers a platform to engage with both members and stakeholders to develop our sector for future generations. Given that SEPA rather than the EA or NRW is the regulatory body for Scotland, it was decided to form a separate Scottish Policy Group. It was set up about five years ago to address issue specific to Scotland such as material flows.

Scotland is not covered by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 (SMDA) but it has its own regulation, the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (AWLA). As a group, they worked closely with BTP, Police Scotland, Scottish Government and SEPA to help inform the wording of this Act. In fact, the BMRA helped draft supplementary guidance used by members and police alike. More recently, the BMRA has been working on waste shipment issues and continues to push for a national register of scrap metal dealers. It also assisted SEPA with the development of metal recycling waste sector plan and its Oil and Gas decommissioning plan.

Ray Grant of formerly of John Lawrie Group, was the chairperson of the SPG said: “BMRA has been assisting Scotland, and I believe our industry is at the forefront in the Government’s proposed development of a circular economy and, ultimately, in helping Scotland to achieves its net zero target.”

Going forward, while COVID-19 has prevented the SPG from meeting face-to-face, it remains committed to supporting the wider LPG and its work on waste classification and legacy additives by liaising with SEPA. These are issues where geographic locations makes no difference and apply throughout the UK.

Ray added: “Being a member of the SPG enables us the opportunity to influence and shape forthcoming regulation and legislative changes at an early stage through discussion with all stakeholders is invaluable to our industry otherwise there is a high chance we could be left with poor or impractical outcomes that would make it difficult for us to operate to and remain within the boundaries of our licenses and permits, which is often a big enough challenge as it is.

“Being a member of the SPG offers the opportunity to foster good working relationship with regulators and stakeholders, as well as industry colleagues throughout Scotland, which all helps to promote trust and best practice. We may not always get what we wish, but better to be in the discussions than not. “I’d like to thank all the SPG members who give up time and share collective knowledge and experience by working with the BMRA team to move the industry forward.”

Click to see a list of Board members and Committee members.