steel recycling benefits

By the staff of
Earth911
Updated: 6/5/2008 2:50:01 PM

Steel is a part of many curbside collection programs, primarily to accept steel cans used for anything from coffee to soup to pet food. Here are some of the important reasons to recycle steel:

Steel cans are so abundant in our daily life that you probably go through one every day
Steel is the building material of choice for most construction projects because of its strength and durability
Because steel is a metal, in can be easily separated from other recyclables (e.g. paper, glass) using magnets
Steel recycling saves landfill space as well as provides a scrap resource to the steel industry
Recycling steel prevents the need to mine for additional iron and coal, the primary ingredients to make new steel
Producing new steel takes valuable non-renewable energy, which is conserved when steel is made from recycled steel
Steel is a key component of car parts and household appliances, and recycled steel has the same strength as new steel when used in these devices
Unlike other materials (paper, glass), steel does not have to be separated by color or size before it is recycled; it can all be melted down at once
Steel containers have the versatility to hold a variety of products, from food to paint to shoe polish, and they simply need to be rinsed before they are ready to recycle
Steel containers are usually comprised entirely of steel, meaning that the entire container can be put in with your steel recycling (including caps and lids)

steel recycling

By the staff of
Earth911
Updated: 6/5/2008 2:47:46 PM

Each year, North America recycles more steel than aluminum, glass, paper and plastic combined
Americans use 100 million steel cans every day
The steel industry has been recycling for over 150 years
The steel industry’s largest source of raw material is scrap metal, which is commonly collected by recycling steel
Recycling steel saves 75 percent of the energy that would be used to create steel from raw materials, enough to power 18 million homes
Over 65 percent of the steel produced in the U.S. is recycled into new steel every year
A ton of recycled steel saves 2500 pounds of iron ore, 1400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone, since they are the raw materials for making new steel
A steel frame for a 2,000 square-foot two-story house is equivalent to the material of about six recycled cars; a comparable wooden frame would take over 40 trees to produce
A typical household appliance (also known as a "white good") is produced using approximately 65 percent steel
Steel cans contain at least 25 percent recycled steel, with many nearly 100 percent recycled content