Steel is 100% recyclable as it can be reprocessed into the same material of the same quality again and again which can enable us to achieve a sustainable future. Moreover, it can be easily recovered by magnetic separation. Recycling is very important in a green economy because it conserves valuable resources and prevents useful materials from going to landfill sites as waste.
There are two main sources of recycled steel which are also called steel scrap – one is the excess material from steel production and downstream manufacturing (pre-consumer scrap), and the other being the steel at the end of a product’s life (post-consumer scrap). Recycling results in significant savings as far as energy and the raw material are concerned which accounts for over 1,400 kg of iron ore, 740 kg of coal, and 120 kg of limestone of savings for every tonne of steel scrap made into new steel. The amount of scrap used in the two main types of steelmaking processes oxygen and electric will be maximized (to respectively 25% and 100%) and the future will witness more electric routes of steel making as they can absorb more scrap.
