Steel is one of the most utilized metals in the world, making up everything from the tallest
skyscrapers to your everyday kitchen utensils. Steel has driven technological growth and
advancement through the Industrial Age and continues to fuel innovation today, with over
1,950,500,000 tonnes produced in 2021 alone.
Steel is an iron alloy, meaning it is made up of a combination of metals and non-metals including
carbon, iron, and tin. Like most metals, including aluminum, copper, and brass, steel can be
continuously recycled without any damage or degradation to its properties—no matter the
product or form it takes.
In fact, steel tops the list of North America’s most recycled materials, with over 60 percent of
steel being recycled annually since 1970. Steel’s production by-products also has a high rate of
recycling, with 90 percent of the co-products used in steel production—including slag, water,
gas, and dust—also being reused or recycled.
This is extremely good news as it relates to steel’s environmental impact and its preservation of
our earth’s natural resources. Steel recycling also has a financial imperative for its consumers;
not to mention the costs saved for those on the production side.
In this article, we will cover the basics of steel recycling and talk through its wide-reaching
benefits—both environmental and financial. But first, let’s go over the different types of steel,
and how it can be sorted for recycling.
The Steel Recycling Process
While it is true that all forms of steel are recyclable, it’s important to note that the recycling
process differs from many other products. This is due to the inherent value of steel—instead of
being sent to a landfill or traditional recycling center, steel products will be sold to a scrap yard
for compensation.
There are three main sources of steel scrap that is sold to scrap yards: Home Scrap, Prompt or
Industrial Scrap, and Obsolete Scrap.
Home Scrap: Home scrap is steel waste that occurs in-house in steel mills through the
production of steel. This includes trimmings and reject scraps of steel. This does not typically
have to be collected or purchased, as it is usually redirected back into the furnace.
Prompt (Industrial) Scrap: Prompt scrap is a result of product manufacturing in areas such as
automotive and appliances. Excess steel from these warehouses and factories are auctioned and
sold to scrap buyers, usually at a premium.
Obsolete Scrap: Obsolete scrap covers the rest of steel waste, stemming from areas such as
individual household appliances, old cars that are sent to a junkyard, office, and household
waste. This category can also extend to include old junked buildings or structures that are sent
to a junkyard and recovered for their steel elements.
After being collected by scrappers in person, at designated drop-offs, or at buy-back centers,
steel scrap is then sorted and sent out to mills or foundries.
The excess steel scrap is then melted down by a furnace that runs at a temperature of nearly
3,000 degrees, and purified to rid the scrap of any contaminants. Then, the melted steel is
solidified into sheets and prepped for shipping.
The newly recycled metal is then ready to be sent out to various factories for use as raw
material, and the cycle begins again.
The Environmental Impact of Steel Recycling
As previously mentioned, steel has an extremely high turnover rate of recycled products—in
both the steel itself and byproducts used in its production process.
Nearly 69 percent of steel is recycled in the U.S. each year, and that number grows when looking
at specific steel goods.
In the end, steel recycling efforts save 75 percent of the overall energy used in production from
raw materials. This has huge benefits in the fight to save natural resources, and prevent excess
greenhouse gas emissions.
The Economic Impact of Steel Recycling
When using recycled materials for production, manufacturers drastically reduce the price of
production costs. Steel allows for the use of completely reused materials instead of going
through the costly procedure of extracting raw ore from the ground.
The recycling process in the steel industry also drives job creation—producing over 531,000 jobs
in scrap recycling and resulting in over $110 billion in economic activity, according to the
American Iron and Steel Institute.
How Much Is Scrap Steel Worth?
Selling scrap metal is a lucrative practice for businesses, manufacturers, and individuals alike. By
participating in the earth-saving recycling process, you are also rewarded financially for your
materials.
Many larger businesses or manufacturers that produce steel as a byproduct of their daily
processes can take advantage of the selling-power of steel.
The average price of recycled steel in 2022 was:
• Stainless steel: $0.34/lb
• Shredded steel: $$162/ton
• Heavy melting steel (HMS) 1: $187/ton
• Rotors: $208/ton
THE BENEFITS OF RECYCLING STEEL
The benefits of recycling scrap metal are numerous, and environmentally and economically
necessary. But did you know that steel is the most recycled metal in the world? There is a strong
probability that you use recycled steel every day, whether it’s in the car you drive or perhaps it’s
the package your food came in. So as you can imagine the benefits of recycling steel are
significant.
One of the benefits of recycling steel is that it reduces the consumption, expenses, energy, and
time to mine other valuable resources. For every ton of recycled steel, it saves one and a half
tons of iron ore, half a ton of coal, and 40 percent of the water normally used in the production
process. By using ferrous scrap rather than virgin materials in the production of iron and steel,
CO2 emissions are reduced by an astounding 58 percent.
Additionally, the more steel is recycled, the less space it takes up in landfills. Over time, this
means a cleaner environment and fewer health concerns from contaminated soil or
groundwater.
Fun Fact: If you were to stack all the steel cans recycled every year, they would reach to and the
moon and back more than three times.
FERROUS METAL RECYCLING: STEEL
Steel is considered a ferrous metal and in 2017 alone, ferrous scrap processed in the U.S. was
valued at $15.9 billion. And the top exports for that year included 5.3 metric tons of shredded
steel scrap, 4.3 metric tons of #1 heavy melting steel, over half a million metric tons of #2 heavy
melting steel, half a million metric tons of cut plate and structural steel, and nearly three fourths
of a metric ton of alloyed non-stainless steel.
One of the major benefits of recycling steel is the fact that steel can be recycled over and over
again without losing its innate strength. Because it retains its natural qualities no matter how
many times it’s recycled, recycled steel can be used in everything from construction to cars
without the quality being compromised.
If you’re wondering what percentage of a steel item is recycled, according to the Institute of
Scrap Recycling Industries, the 2014 recycling rate for cars was nearly 100 percent, for structural
steel it was a cool 98 percent, and for rebar and reinforcement steel it was 71 percent.
Most of the obsolete recycled ferrous scrap is recovered from cars, steel structures, railroad
tracks, ships, and farm equipment. However, prompt scrap, which is generated from industrial
and manufacturing sources, accounts for approximately half of the ferrous scrap that is
recovered.
THE IMPACT THAT RECYCLING STEEL HAS
We already touched on some of the benefits of recycling steel but what is the overall impact? As
we mentioned before, in 2017 the processed ferrous scrap in the U.S. was valued at a whopping
$15.9 billion, which amounts to about 66 million tons of ferrous scrap. Just to give you an idea of
what that looks like, on average, the United States processes enough ferrous scrap daily, by
weight, to build 25 Eiffel Towers every single day of the year.
Additionally, the United States exports ferrous scrap to more than 75 countries worldwide
which means more of an economic boost for us. This also means that steel mills, both domestic
and foreign, foundries, and other industrial consumers have come to rely on ferrous scrap as an
environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient material to be used in the production of new steel,
construction, and various products.
Battery Recycling Benefit #3: Keeps Dangerous Materials
Out of Landfills
What happens when batteries end up laying around
landfills? They will start to break down.
When batteries become corroded or damaged, they will start to
leak chemicals into the soil, and could even find their way into
the ocean.
These materials are not only harmful to the environment but
also to human health.
Materials like lead-acid, cadmium, and lithium-ion are among
some of the most dangerous environmental pollutants. If not
recycled properly they could easily end up on your dinner plate.
Protecting your health and the health of the environment is a
significant advantage of recycling batteries to keep in mind.
Battery Recycling Benefit #4: Recycling Reduces The Need
For Raw Materials And Conserves Resources
Yes, the materials we mentioned above are harmful. But when
they are used properly and safely, they do not pose a danger to
us and others.
Battery production companies use raw-earth materials like
lithium, nickel, lead, cobalt to name a few, to create new
batteries. The problem is these materials are non -renewable
and are expensive to mine.
The increasing necessity and use of batteries mean that more
of these materials are in demand.
The mining process can result in the release of potentially toxic
metals into the air. Not to mention, miners in third -world
countries who dig for cobalt or copper, often work in dangerous
conditions.
Recycling your used batteries means you conserve resources
while reducing the ever-growing need for these raw materials.
Battery Recycling Benefit #5: Battery recycling promotes
the reuse of materials in producing new batteries
A huge benefit is that the raw materials used in battery
production are nearly infinitely recyclable. Unfortunately, if they
are laying around landfills they completely go to waste.
As seen in this chart, recycling saves us a large percentage of
aluminum and copper which means that these resources will
be available for future generations.
Recycling can help to extract the raw materials from used
batteries and forward them to manufacturing companies for
reuse. This also brings down the cost of new batteries.
As a result, recycling conserves resources, reduces pollution,
and contributes to the economy all in one go.
