Steel: The Most Recycled Material in the World (NAPA Recycling)
Steel: The Most Recycled Material in the World (NAPA Recycling)
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Did you know that steel is the most recycled material in the world? In North America, we recycle around 80 million tons of steel each year. That’s more than the weight of all of the cars in the entire state of California. It’s also more than all the paper, plastic, aluminum and glass we recycle each year combined.
Why Recycle Steel?
Steel recycling is good for the environment because the more steel we recycle, the less mining for new metals we have to do. Every ton of steel we recycle saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone. It also saves energy — recycling steel uses 74% less energy than creating steel from raw materials.
Why Is Steel So Recyclable?
Steel can be recycled over and over again to produce new steel. Why is it so easy to recycle? First, it’s magnetic, so it’s easy to separate from other metals. Second, unlike recycled paper or glass, which suffer from degradation when recycled, steel doesn’t lose any strength when it’s re-melted to make new steel, so it doesn’t lose any of its value.
What Is Steel Used For?
From cars and skyscrapers to soup cans and sardine tins, steel is used to make many of the objects we interact with every day.
Here’s a list of common steel items:
(Click to see how each item can be recycled)
Food cans
Paint cans
Aerosol cans
Cars
Small appliances
Large appliances
Scrap metal
Construction materials
Steel can be used in any of the applications above then be melted down and remanufactured into any of the other items on the list — or even the same item. Isn’t recycling neat?
How Do I Recycle Steel?
It depends on the item. Items such as food cans can be put in your curbside recycling. However, if your steel is large scrap metal or large appliances or small appliances, make a Recycle More appointment.
If you have scrap metal you’d like to sell to a scrapyard, start by determining the market price for the metal you have. (A few cans or small steel items are unlikely to be worth the trip.) Then, bring it to the Devlin Road Reuse & Recycle Center, or find a scrapyard by looking up your zip code in the iScrap app. When you bring in your steel, you can recycle other kinds of scrap metal at the same time, including aluminum, copper, brass and cast iron.