Team Stainless has issued a summary of the detailed analysis of stainless steel stocks and flows by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The analysis concluded that in 2019 on average 95% of stainless steels are recycled once they reach their end of life, with 70% used to make new stainless steels and 25% used to make new carbon or special steels.
The study also considered the recycled content of stainless steels for 2019. Globally the average recycled content of stainless steel was 48%. However, there were significant regional differences. For example, in the USA and Europe the recycled content 83% and 85% respectively. In China, on average stainless steels only had 31% recycled content. This reflects the fact that the availability of scrap stainless steel in China is lower because most in-use stainless steels have not yet reached their end of life. The study also analyzed end use specific end-of-life flows.
