Saudi Arabia Metal Recycling Market Overview,2030

Saudi Arabia’s metal recycling market is undergoing a deep metamorphosis as the Kingdom seeks to align its industrial infrastructure with its sustainability goals under Vision 2030. At the heart of this transformation is the growth of scrap metal collection and processing systems that feed into major ferrous recycling players. Among them, Al Qaryan Group stands out it processes the largest share of steel scrap in the country, integrating collection, sorting, melting in induction furnaces, and supplying billets for steelmakers. Magnetic separation is widely deployed to extract ferrous metals from mixed waste; eddy current separators are now more commonly used in plants that handle non ferrous scrap such as aluminum, copper, and zinc; optical sorting machines are being adopted in higher end recyclers to distinguish alloys or to separate coated metals; shears and shredders are used in demolition and industrial scrap yards to break down large structural steel or redundant equipment; melting occurs in local furnaces with refining steps to remove impurities and produce usable steel, aluminium, copper, etc.; and solidification into billets or ingots supplies domestic manufacturing and construction sectors. Innovations are visible: some processors are trialling artificial intelligence assisted sorting lines for better identification of scrap quality, robotic systems for dismantling of electronic waste to recover precious or critical metals, and sensor based tracking of scrap inputs to improve supply chain transparency. Riyadh, Dammam, and the Eastern region have seen greater investment in emission control, in furnace upgrades, and in policies to ensure environmental clearances, waste permits, licences and auditing through the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and other regional authorities. Port facilities such as those in Jubail and Jeddah play a key role in feedstock import/export and in handling scrap flows especially for non ferrous materials.

According to the research report, ""Saudi Arabia Metal Recycling Market Overview, 2030,"" published by Bonafide Research, the Saudi Arabia Metal Recycling market is anticipated to add to more than USD 1.71 Billion by 2025–30. Significant investment agreements have been made under national strategies where foreign firms such as Vedanta and Zijin Group have committed to build copper smelters, refineries, and component manufacturing plants at industrial hubs like Ras Al Khair. These projects intend to strengthen domestic capacity for processing non ferrous metal scrap rather than relying heavily on imports. The Saudi Investment Recycling Company, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, has become a central actor in orchestrating deals with recyclers, financing infrastructure, upgrading plants, and expanding collection centre networks. Another example is Al Qaryan Group branching out into demolition and value recovery services for large infrastructure and industrial dismantling projects; by assessing the recyclable material within buildings or factories before demolition, then undertaking full cycle recycling including debris sorting, metal salvage, and resale to steel plants or non ferrous processors. Environmental Social Governance considerations are increasingly embedded by major recycling firms that are reporting on emissions, adopting energy efficient furnaces, and investigating renewable energy and cleaner reductants. Government subsidies, tax incentives or favorable regulatory treatment are being offered to firms that adopt cleaner technology or build upgraded refining capacity. At the same time, Saudi Arabia is pushing for better regulation of scrap export versus local reuse, with potential restrictions or export control measures being discussed for certain non ferrous scrap to retain value within the country. Logistics improvements better roads, port handling, custom processes are being developed to reduce transportation cost, improve metal flows especially from remote industrial or mining regions. Global supply chain pressures, volatile energy costs, and raw material supply constraints are pushing recyclers to secure local feedstock, improve efficiency, reduce losses through contamination, and assure consistent quality.

In Saudi Arabia the recycling market is heavily weighted toward ferrous metals, with steel scrap being the most recycled type by sheer volume. Companies like Al Qaryan Group are leaders in processing steel scrap, taking in large quantities from construction demolition, dismantled infrastructure, and old vehicles. Ferrous scrap is easier to collect, transport, and process because magnetic separation works well, impurity tolerance is higher, and local steel mills use recycled steel for structural components, reinforcing bars, beams, and other construction grade steel. The kingdom has invested in induction furnace capacity that relies significantly on ferrous inputs, and this supports domestic supply, reduces reliance on imported billets, and aligns with Vision 2030 goals. Non ferrous metals such as aluminium, copper, zinc, and speciality alloys play a smaller but rapidly growing role. Non ferrous scrap tends to come from electrical wiring, discarded cable, non structural parts of vehicles, packaging aluminium, electronics, and sometimes from marine or mechanical repair operations. There are firms whose focus is non ferrous scrap, like Nonmet, which specialize in purchasing and recycling non ferrous metals and electronic waste. Non ferrous recycling in Saudi Arabia demands more sophisticated sorting, refining, and purity control, hence the cost is higher and operations are more specialized. In summary ferrous metals lead by volume and general infrastructure usage while non ferrous metals lead in value, technology challenges, and growth potential.

In Saudi Arabia the building and construction industry is the biggest user of recycled metal, especially recycled steel from ferrous scrap. Rapid urban expansion, public infrastructure projects, new roads, massive redevelopment of city centres, and huge projects like NEOM generate high demand for recycled ferrous metals. Steel beams, reinforcement rods, frames, and construction grade steel elements are mostly sourced from local recycled steel. Automotive and transportation comes next in importance, especially in dismantling end of life vehicles for scrap and reusing or recycling both ferrous frameworks and non ferrous components like aluminium body parts, copper wiring, and radiators. Domestic automotive parts manufacturers increasingly seek recycled content to reduce cost and meet regulatory or environmental expectations. Industrial machinery and equipment manufacturing also consumes both kinds of metals ferrous for frames and structural parts, non ferrous for moving parts, conductors, and components where weight or corrosion, or conductivity matters. Consumer goods and electronics are rising sources of non ferrous scrap, e waste collection being pushed more by regulation and growing awareness. Packaging, especially aluminium cans and non ferrous containers, contributes too and is being more efficiently collected. Shipbuilding and aerospace are less dominant sectors in Saudi Arabia, but when they do supply scrap or demand recycled metal, they require high grade non ferrous or specialty steel alloys.

Obsolete scrap is the largest and most diverse source. It includes scrap from demolished buildings, end of life vehicles, retired machinery, abandoned infrastructure, and discarded consumer metal goods. Because of the scale of construction and redevelopment nationwide, and growing regulation around waste, a lot of ferrous and non ferrous obsolete scrap is entering the recycling loops. It tends to be lower quality in some cases, with coatings, mixed metals, embedded non metal parts, etc., so sorting and cleaning and sometimes refining are necessary to make it usable. Prompt industrial scrap, which comes from manufacturing offcuts, production rejects, defected parts, trimming waste, and clean internal scrap from metal fabrication, is prized for its consistency, predictability, and higher purity. Many manufacturers in industrial zones and free zones generate prompt scrap and sell to recyclers, or sometimes recycle internally. This stream is especially useful for non ferrous metal recovery and premium steel grades. Capital equipment & infrastructure scrap refers to large metal sources from decommissioned plants, redundant machinery, old pipes and structural elements, major infrastructure undergoing replacement, and large transportation or utilities projects. When these are dismantled, they yield large quantities of high grade steel and non ferrous metal. But the challenges include transport, dismantling cost, regulatory clearance, hazardous materials, and logistical complexity. Among the three, obsolete scrap leads in volume, prompt scrap leads in quality and less processing cost, and capital equipment scrap yields high value when handled well.

Considered in this report
• Historic Year: 2019
• Base year: 2024
• Estimated year: 2025
• Forecast year: 2030

Aspects covered in this report
• Metal Recycling Market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Types of metals
• Ferrous Metals
• Non-ferrous Metals

By End-Use Industry
• Building & Construction
• Automotive & Transportation
• Industrial Machinery & Equipment
• Consumer Goods & Electronics
• Packaging
• Shipbuilding & Aerospace
• Others

By Source of scraps
• Obsolete scrap
• Prompt (Industrial) Scrap
• Capital Equipment & Infrastructure
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