Metals for Buildings
Essential &
fully Recyclable
© International Polar Foundation - René Robert
1
Metals are Due to their intrinsic properties, metals are widely used in the
building and construction sector. They are a first choice material
for structures, reinforcements, cladding, roofing, window frames,
essential plumbing, heating equipment and many other applications. Metals
can be found in old and historic buildings as well as in new, modern
architecture.
in buildings The following three performance properties make metals essential
for buildings:
Doing more with less Freedom for designers Durability
Due to their high strength, Thanks to their high stiffness, Metal building products,
metals can bear high loads metals can span greater with appropriate surface
with less material or be used distances, allowing more treatment when necessary,
to reinforce other materials. design freedom. are weatherproof, seismic
proof, corrosion resistant
and immune to the harmful
effects of UV rays, ensuring a
very long service life without
degradation.
non-metallic material non-metallic material
© International Polar Foundation - René Robert
sp ial
less material
er er
an
ng at
= reduced
lo m
= fer
thickness
f
sti
metal metal
recycling
recycling
Before
Scrap
After
Non-remeltable
materials
Fibrous materials
Metals
Metals can be recycled without loss of quality. Because metallic
bonds are restored upon resolidification, metals continually recover 2
their original performance properties, even after multiple recycling
loops. This allows them to be used again and again for the same
application. By contrast, the performance characteristics of most
non-metallic materials degrade after recycling. Metals
remain metals
3 Metals are reused or recycled
When a building reaches the end of its life, a products, on their journey to metal-recycling
considerable proportion of its metallic products installations. High economic value is the main
can be directly re-used, as currently happens driver for this systematic collection and recycling.
with metal-framed buildings. Being flexible and As metal recycling provides energy savings of
adaptable, the functional life of these parts can between 60% and 95% compared to primary
be extended. production, depending on the metal and the
metal-bearing product, metal recycling creates a
When a metallic building product reaches the end win-win situation for both the environment and
of its life, it can be fully recycled. Already, today, the economy.
more than 95% of the metallic products used in
buildings are collected at end-of-life. Small and The reuse or recycling of metallic building products
medium-sized companies play a key role in the saves resources.
collecting and processing of metal-containing
Deconstruction
Use phase & collection
Separation
Construction
Recycling
Manufacturing
into buildings
Metal Resource
components
processing extraction
4
How to best measure the
recyclability of metals
Valid recyclability-measurement approaches are necessary for the various stakeholders. Governments
need them for assessing metal-commodity markets, industry to identify improvement potential,
regulators to measure the fulfilment of targets in waste and recycling legislation, academia for system
analyses and sustainability experts to assess the environmental impact of products. Today, two indicators
are typically used: “recycled content” and “end-of-life recycling rate”.
Recycled content: inappropriate for metal products
Recycled content looks at how much recycled Conversely, this indicator is not appropriate for
material is used in the production of a new metal building products since they are already
product. Situated at the beginning of the supply efficiently collected and recycled within a well-
chain, i.e. at the manufacturing stage of a established recycling market.
product, it is an indicator that may make sense for Hence, the recycled metal content does not reflect
products containing materials for which recycling the intrinsic recycling performances of a metal
industry is not profitable and/or the market is not product in the building sector. Thus, this indicator
yet mature. In these circumstances, a requirement could be used only to reflect the average share of
for high recycled content in new products may recycled metal in the overall metal supply chain.
stimulate recycling for materials or products that
would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated.
End-of-life recycling rate: the most appropriate for metal products
The End-of-Life (EOL) recycling rate compares the availability for future generations as explained
actual amount of metals obtained from recycling in the common Metals Declaration on Recycling,
with the amount of metals theoretically available published in 2006.
at the end of the life of a product. Including metal This indicator is widely accepted in the scientific
losses during collection, scrap preparation and community (UNEP SETAC, ILCD), is in line with the
melting, it directly reflects the specific recycling approach used by academia (Yale University) and
performance of a metallic product independently is used by internationally known experts (United
from market growth or its lifespan. Hence, it is Nations Panel on Resource Management).
the most relevant indicator for metal products in
buildings in order to maximise and preserve metal
“Recycled content” vs. “end-of-life
5 recycling rate” – Why can they differ?
The upper limit of what is recycled today is material to satisfy the growing demand, virgin
governed by what was produced in the past. material has to be introduced into the supply
The rapid growth in the use of metals over many chain. So, in spite of an efficient collection and
years and the fact that metallic building products recycling of metal products at the end of their
typically have a service life of decades means that life especially in the building sector, the average
there is an actual shortage of metal scrap coming recycled content in metal supply is still relatively
from buildings. As there is insufficient recycled low.
DEMAND
Shortage of
metal scrap
Construction Use phase
Recycling
Construction Use phase Deconstruction
& collection
Decades ago Today TIME
Hence, recycled content is not a relevant indicator to predict, today, which product will be most
recyclable in the future. Instead, any environmental assessment of a product using recycled content as
an indicator at its production stage must be complemented by information related to the end-of-life
recycling phase. Only then, will society and regulators see the complete picture of the whole metallic
product lifecycle.
The future encouragement
6
of recycling
As it is economically attractive, metal collection
and recycling are already performed to a high
degree. Throughout the whole value chain, there
is, however, still potential for improvement.
Besides industry’s own investigations, joint activities
are being conducted with research institutions
and academia to assess losses throughout the
lifecycle and see how they can be minimised. This
work will help to further understand this complex
business and define adequate measures for further
improving metals recycling.
This publication has been developed by METALS FOR BUILDINGS, the alliance of European Metals Associations active
in the building sector to promote the unique strengths of metal products for recyclable and sustainable buildings.
www.metalsforbuildings.eu
Photo cover page : Princess Elisabeth Station in Antarctica - © International Polar Foundation - René Robert
www.polarfoundation.org www.antarcticstation.org
