The Global Life Cycle
of Stainless Steels
Minimising mining (primary production) In 2006, Team Stainless and Yale University
and maximising recycling (secondary started the first project to quantify stainless
production) are core principles of steel stocks and flows cycles in 2000 and
sustainable resource management. 2005. This fact sheet provides highlights from
Consequently, there is an increasing the latest study ‘Comprehensive Multilevel
interest in quantifying the material Cycle of Stainless Steel in 2015’ by B.K. Reck,
life cycle of stainless steels and their covering 50 countries, territories and country
efficiencies from production, to fabrication, groups.
manufacturing, use, recycling and, in some
cases, disposal.
Stainless steels: a sustainable
solution for more than a century
Stainless steels are produced in various grades and support many essential applications in our modern world
from transportation, buildings, bridges, water pipes and industrial processes to medical uses, food processing
and preparation. They are often selected as the sustainable material of choice for a myriad of domestic and
industrial applications because of their recyclability, strength, toughness, durability, hygienic properties, and
resistance to corrosion, heat, cold and blasts.
2015 global
production & apparent Global
consumption
41.8million
China
21.6
million
In 2015, global stainless steel meltshop tonnes tonnes
production was 41.8 million tonnes,
with more than half being produced in
China (21.6 million tonnes).
Use in manufacturing was estimated to
be 35 million tonnes, 46% of which was
in China.
2015 end use Building &
Infrastructure
Metal 5.91 Mt/year
Goods
End use refers to the final 9.47 Mt/year
products where stainless
steels are used.
18.4%
Stainless steels are used 29.4% Transportation
by many sectors, in many (pass. cars)
countries and in a multitude 12.1% 3.89 Mt/year
of end use products,
remaining in use for a few 7.8% 2.9%
years to many decades.
Household 29.4% Transportation
Appliances (others)
& Electronics
0.94 Mt/year
2.52 Mt/year
Industrial
Machinery
9.48 Mt/year
Stainless steels
stocks & flows
Because of their durability and Losses 0.2
longevity, stainless steels are
typically in use for many years
before they become available
for recycling. The average 32
.3
lifespan is estimated to
.3
be around 20 years, but
35
there are examples of 2.7
stainless steels in use for
a century and beyond. 1.9 0.5
All stainless steels still in
Losses 0.3
use represent a valuable
4.1
source of potentially
TO STOCK
21.1
recyclable raw material.
PRODUCTION 13.6
OF STAINLESS STEEL
6.3
11 . 1
41
HOT & COLD
.6
ROLLING
MANUFACTURING OF Sl
ag
END PRODUCTS 1.2 3.2
P
merima
tal ry 5.1
s
24 l 1.6
USE/STOCK .0 dfil
Lan
Carbon steel scrap
RECYCLING & WASTE
MANAGEMENT
The outer ring establishes the boundary of the system within which stainless
steels are transformed into products (such as cars, domestic goods, industrial All values are in million metric tonnes (Mt)
machinery etc.), used and recycled. There is always movement. Arrows show stainless steel per year (the sum of values
stainless steels entering and leaving the system. may not add up due to rounding)
End use sector specific end-of-life flows
50
Average 30 25
lifetime
(years) 14 15 15
85% 90% 90% 90% 80% 80%
20% 10%
Collected 20% 40%
40% 40%
for
recycling
Carbon
steel
80% 80% 90%
Stainless
steel
60% 60%
60%
% to
landfill 15% 10% 10% 10% 20% 20%
Building & Transportation Transportation Industrial Household Metal
Infrastructure (pass. cars) (others) Machinery Appliances & Goods
Electronics
2015 stainless steels end-of-life recycling rate
Recycling is highly beneficial, economically and environmentally. The high
value of stainless steel scrap makes it worth collecting and sorting, and
is the reason why it is recycled at such a high rate. Reusing its valuable
alloying elements reduces cost, resource depletion, environmental
impacts and energy use. The high end-of-life recycling rate indicates how
85%
of stainless steels are recycled at end of life
efficiently stainless steel is recycled from end-of-life products. 56% 29%
is used to make new is used to make
In principle, and as long as product design and recycling technologies stainless steel new carbon steel
allow, stainless steels can be recycled infinitely. Scrap is a secondary raw
material arising from the product manufacturing processes as well as
from finished products at the end of their life.
Recycling of stainless steels Post-consumer material recycled today went
into use on average 20 years earlier
20 years
The production of stainless steels has grown 35
at a rate of about 6% per annum, influenced
particularly by the increase in Chinese 30
production in the last 20 years. In 2015,
Flow into use
China produced more than half of the world’s
End-of-life
stainless steels (53%). Its economy used 39%,
up from 10% in 2000. 20
On average, post-consumer material
becoming available for recycling now went
Million metric tonnes
into use some 20 years ago, demonstrating its 10
long life. The graph shows how the theoretical
maximum recycled content is limited by the
availability of end-of-life recycled stainless
steel which itself depends on past production,
growth rates and lifespans of end products. 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015
2015 recycled content
of stainless steels 32%
stainless
12%
carbon
steel scrap steel scrap
The recycled content of stainless steels is the
amount of scrap used in the production of
new stainless steels.
In many world regions, recycled content in new
stainless steels was much higher than the 44%
global average scrap ratio suggests. The world
average is strongly impacted by the dominance
44
scrap
%
of China’s production with low recycled content
(23%).
The availability of scrap is so low in China Global average recycled content of stainless steels
because most stainless steels currently in use
were produced after 2005 and have not yet
reached their end of life. In-use stainless steels
in China will start to become available for reuse
in the next five years, representing a large
opportunity for recycling.
70 %
Europe
In the absence of sufficient domestic scrap
availability they have developed another
solution, i.e. NPI as a source of low cost nickel.
23
China
% 44 %
Others*
71 % 66%
Other Asia
USA (excluding China)
Comparative recycled content of stainless steels by region
*Others includes Russia, Ukraine, South Africa & Brazil
About Team Stainless
Team Stainless is an informal alliance of Eurofer, the International Chromium Development Association,
the International Molybdenum Association, the International Nickel Study Group, the International Stainless
Steel Forum, and the Nickel Institute. Its primary function is to support the stainless steels industry by
providing accurate and industry-leading information about the properties and sustainable benefits of
stainless steels.
