According to the Steel Recycling Institute, steel remains the most recycled material on the planet.
- Once produced, steel can be continually recycled into new steel products—a steel beam can become another steel beam, refrigerator, car door, or roof panel. And stainless steel, in addition to being 100% recyclable, can increase the lifetime of many products due to its corrosion resistance and durability.
- All steel produced in the U.S. contains recycled content, up to 100 percent for some steel products.
- For example, structural steel produced in America typically contains 90 percent or more recycled steel.
- In the U.S. alone, 60 to 80 million tons of steel scrap are recycled per year into new steel products.
- Based on a three-year rolling average, the U.S. overall steel recycling rate for 2019 is calculated at 69 percent, with rates ranging from 65 percent to 80 percent since 2012.
The American steel industry is the cleanest and most energy-efficient of the leading steel industries in the world. This is due to the high percentage of steel made from recycled scrap to make new steel, domestically sourced iron ore pellets, and the increasing use of natural gas instead of coal and coke to make iron and steel with lower emissions.