How to recycle steel

Since recycling is far more economically smart thancontains roughly 30% recycled materials. Since steel
paying workers to mine the iron ore and go throughbeams are made to be a standard dimension, a small
the procedures of production to form new steelamount of waste is produced while in construction.
which is no better than recycled. This is becauseThe little amount that is produced during construction
while recycling no physical properties are lost duringcan be recycled. Steel has advantages over wood in
the process and requires far less energy andmany ways. A few are stability, quality, and for
materials than if we were to refine from iron ore intoeconomic reasons. A normal 2000 square-foot
new steel. The annual consumption of energy hastwo-level house would use about five to six recycled
been reduced by more around 75% each year duecars for its steel frame. On the other hand using
to the recycling of steel. To understand how muchwood can require up to if not more than 40-50 trees.
energy this is, nearly eighteen million homes could beEach year the demand for steel strengthens. There is
powered for one whole year. In 2005 alone over 76a fair amount of steel that exists today and most is
million tons of steel was recycled. For each ton ofactively used daily. However, recycled steel has to be
recycled steel, 630k kilograms of coal, 55kg ofaugmented by a "first-use" metal, extracted from
limestone, and 1,100kg of iron ore is saved.raw materials. Automobiles, cans, appliances are a
In the past years, about 75% of all produced steelfew of the more common steels recycled daily.
has been recycled. Most industrial steel such asTypical automobiles are roughly 66% iron and steel
structural plates and beams are recycled 97.5% ofand appliances are a smaller amount lower at 65%
the time in 2004 and 2005. For other varieties ofsteel by weight. Recycling the steel usually happens
steel elements like reinforcement bars the recyclingthrough the interlaced steel mills and the standard
rate is a bit lower at 65%. Due to this high recycleoxygen routine. Most steel is normally electrically
rate most structured steel usually contains aboutmelted by a furnace or for high alloyed products a
95% recycled content. Lighter, flat rolled steel onlyfurnace for induction is used.