MRAI’s International Material Recycling Conference – IMRC 2026 in Jaipur - To Spotlight GST, Scrap Imports and Policy Bottlenecks Facing Recyclers

Jaipur: The Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI), the apex body representing India’s material recycling industry, has announced the 13th edition of its flagship event, the International Material Recycling Conference & Exposition (IMRC 2026), scheduled to be held from January 20–22, 2026, at the Novotel Jaipur & Convention Centre, Jaipur. 

The conference will focus on key themes including sustainability, climate change, energy storage, and circular economy transitions, while also addressing long-standing structural challenges such as the absence of formal industry status for recycling in India, regulatory clarity, and market stability. IMRC 2026 is expected to serve as a critical policy and industry platform as recyclers seek clearer frameworks to support scale, investment, and compliance.

Shri.Sanjay Mehta, President, MRAI, said, “Recycling in India is no longer a peripheral activity; it is central to resource security, climate commitments and manufacturing competitiveness. Yet the industry continues to operate without formal industry status, fragmented by unorganised players and regulatory ambiguities. IMRC 2026 will bring these realities to the forefront and push for practical, data-backed policy solutions.”

One of the central themes of IMRC 2026 will be raw material security for Indian recyclers, particularly the availability of quality scrap. While India is often perceived as scrap-rich, industry leaders argue that domestic availability remains inadequate, making imports critical for capacity utilisation. Recent reductions in import duties on certain non-ferrous scrap categories have provided relief, but aluminium scrap continues to attract higher duties, an issue MRAI intends to take up strongly during the conference through structured policy discussions. Beyond trade and taxation, IMRC 2026 will also focus on sustainability and climate-linked transitions, including energy storage, critical minerals, battery recycling, carbon markets, ESG compliance, and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) implementation.   
IMRC 2026 will be greeted with messages from Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Shri Bhupender Yadav, Hon’ble Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) will be represented by Shri V. K. Singh, Director.