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Recycling Metals - Steel
Metal is the most recycled
industrial commodity. Nearly 76 million tons of key
industrial-grade metals are recycled for reuse annually in the
U.S. alone. That's better than a 60% recycling rate.
Environmentalists are particularly
keen on metals recycling, says research scientist Iddo Wernick
at the Earth Institute of Columbia University, because it
conserves minerals, reduces deposits at landfills and
incinerators, saves energy and decreases emissions of greenhouse
gases.
Mineral extracting and processing
often pollute air, land and water with toxic materials. In
addition, mining and processing operations require energy - that
is, the burning of fuels such as coal, oil, etc. When
burned, these fuels release pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide,
methane, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and chlorofluorocarbons
into the air that contribute to global climate change. By
reducing the disturbance and pollution associated with
virgin materials extraction, recycling also helps stop
degradation of the earth's ecosystems.
"All iron and steel scrap is
recycled material that is a vital raw material for the
production of new steel and cast iron products," notes analyst
Michael Fenton at the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors the
scrap steel market. "All steel products manufactured in the
U.S., including bridge components, road signs and construction
materials, are made from some recycled steel."
Studies also show that less energy
is needed to manufacture from recovered materials than from
virgin materials. Recycling scrap metals conserves
minerals, reduces deposits at landfills and incinerators, saves
energy and decreases emissions of greenhouse gases.
Simply, it is environmentally responsible.
Steel is the Leader of Recycled
Metals in the U.S.
The U.S. consumes about 70 million
tons of steel scrap annually; about 32% of that total, or 22.5
million tons, is home scrap. Another 23% (16 million tons) is
prompt-industrial scrap. A full 45%, or 31.5 million tons, comes
from old scrap-primarily from shredded automobiles and material
from waste-stream recovery.
Recycling's environmental benefits
are found at every stage of the life cycle of a consumer
product, from the mining of the raw materials through use and
final disposal. By decreasing the need to extract and process
virgin materials, recycling helps reduce or eliminate the
pollution associated with the first two stages of a product's
development: Material extraction and processing.
Mineral extracting and processing
often pollute air, land and water with toxic materials. In
addition, both mining and processing operations require
energy-that is, the burning of fuels such as coal, oil and
natural gas. When burned, these fuels release pollutants, such
as sulfur dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and
chlorofluorocarbons into the air that contribute to global
climate change. By reducing land disturbance and pollution
associated with virgin materials extraction, recycling also
helps stop the degradation of the earth's ecosystems. Studies
also show that less energy is needed to manufacture products
from recovered materials than from virgin materials.
Manufacturing products from
recovered materials can reduce the amount of energy needed by as
much as 94%. Several studies have concluded that the
environmental impacts of recycled-content products are less than
those of virgin products when the two are compared over their
entire life cycles. The analysis found that when compared to a
system based on the use of virgin materials and land filling or
incineration, recycling and remanufacturing products from
recovered materials results in a net reduction in 10 major
categories of air pollutants and eight major categories of water
pollutants. Using recovered materials also generates less solid
waste, whether measured by weight or volume.
Source: The
Environmental Protection Agency
Links:
Used Rail/HMS
1&2 Steel Scrap
Scrap Metal Recycling Div.
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