Trade Group Consortium Publishes Stainless Steel Life Cycle Report

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Team Stainless, consortium of trade groups including the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), announced publication of a new report titled “The Global Life Cycle of Stainless Steels”. The report compiles the results of studies on life cycle of stainless steel materials.

The report cites the results of a study conducted in 2015 by Yale University, which says that nearly 85% of the world’s stainless steel is recycled upon reaching the end of their life. Almost 56% of collected stainless steel scrap items becomes new stainless steel, whereas another 29% is melted to make carbon steel.

Globally, the recycled content in stainless steel averages around 44%. On an average, stainless steel is made with 32% stainless steel scrap and 12% carbon steel scrap. However, the recycled content varies significantly across regions.

For instance, the U.S. and Europe reported high average recycling content of 71% and 70% respectively. On the other hand, the stainless steel made in China contained only 23% recycled content. The scrap availability in China continues to be in lower levels, as most stainless steel currently in use have been produced after 2005, which means that they have not reached their end of life. Incidentally, China accounts for over 52% of the world’s stainless steel production.

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