6. Steel recycling

Recycling issues are central to the steel life cycle, as it is estimated that over 85% of steel will be recycled when the goods incorporating it reach the end of their life, making steel the most recycled material in the world. It is the very long economic life of steel (estimated at 35 years according to [M 7 060] ) which means that the electric furnace sector today represents only 26% of world production, rather than 85%. However, the study of scrap metal and its geo-economics is beyond the scope of this article.

Eventually, once steel production has reached...