Recycled Steel Scrap
Reclaimed steel from end-of-life vehicles, appliances, construction and industrial sources, used as feedstock for electric arc furnace steelmaking.
Covered in 1 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence article, most recently on August 25, 2026.
Overview
Recycled steel scrap is steel recovered at the end of a product's life — from scrapped cars, demolished buildings, worn-out appliances and industrial offcuts — and sorted into standard grades by size, cleanliness and source before being sold as furnace feedstock. Steel is one of the most recycled materials in the world, with an average global recycling rate around 85%, because it can be melted and reused indefinitely without losing its properties.
Regional Variation
Scrap's role varies sharply by region and route. Electric arc furnaces, which run mostly or entirely on scrap rather than iron ore, account for about 28.6% of global steel output, but usage is uneven: North America ran roughly 69% EAF, the EU around 45%, while China — the largest steel producer by far — used EAF for under 10% of its output, relying instead on iron-ore-based blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace production.
Sources
- EAF share of global steel production is 28.6% — Usage of electric arc furnace in global steel production reaches 28.6% (2025)
