- Each year, North America recycles more steel than 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.
- One ton of recycled steel saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone.
- 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 reaching 100 percent recycled content.
