The most in-demand metal in the world is, naturally, the most readily recycled. The steel industry accounts for among the largest consumers of scrap metal and continues to derive much of its material from pre-existing scrap recovered from junkyards.
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| Image source: steel.org |
Steel has a number of unique metallurgic properties that allow it to be melted and repurposed into a variety of forms without any degradation to its quality. Overall, it is generally cheaper to produce more steel from scrap than to smelt iron and process it into steel.
The greatest effect that recycling has in promoting sustainability is in how it reduces the steel industry's dependence on mining (and its associated pollution and environmental degradation) to satisfy demand. It also takes a lot less energy to melt ferrous metals like steel to be recast, thus greatly cutting back on atmospheric pollution emissions.
Due to the durability of steel, its products take quite a long time to fall out of circulation before they can finally be recovered for scrap. Thus, most steel mills still require the continued mining of raw iron to satisfy the demands of metal. However, over 88 percent of all steel used is eventually recycled, allowing the industry to cut back on their reliance on destructive mining.
In addition, steel recycling is spurring the recycling efforts in other related industries that are connected with the substance, such as automotives and appliances. This increases the volume of materials recycled overall and the efficiency of recycling efforts.
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| Image source: recycle-steel.org |
Sean and Chris Keehner helm DS Pipe & Steel Supply LLC, a leading provider of piping and steel construction materials in Maryland and surrounding states. Visit this website for more on the company and its range of products.
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