US steel recycling hits record high

The US steel recycling rate hit a high of 83.3 per cent in 2008 as the recycling rates for containers and construction steel continued upwards and others held steady.

The Steel Recycling Institute recently released figures for recycling rates from 2008, based on information gathered from scrap processors, steel producers, the US Geological Survey and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

From a high point of 75.7 per cent in 2005, U.S. steel recycling rates dipped down to about 68 per cent in 2006, and then climbed up to about 78 per cent in 2007 before climbing further last year, when 82m tons of domestic steel scrap was recycled.

All new steel contains some level of recycled steel, and in the US, new steel has a minimum of 28 per cent scrap in it, with some operations using up to 90 per cent recycled material.

The recycling rate for steel containers reached 65.2 per cent in 2008, a figure that has steadily climbed up from a low of 55.9 per cent in 1998. The rate for construction reinforcement steel like rebar increased to 70 per cent from 65 per cent, where it had stayed steady for a few years.

The rates for appliance and structural steel both stayed the same as previous years. Appliance recycling has been at 90 per cent since 2005 and structural steel has been at 97.5 per cent since 2004.

Automotive steel recycling was at 106 per cent in 2008, and has been over 100 per cent since 2002. The Steel Recycling Institute notes that figure has been above 100 per cent because older vehicles are typically heavier than newer ones.

This article first appeared on GreenBiz.com