Did you know that there is a lot of recycled iron and steel around you? Most empty cans, steel furniture, and the steel skeletons and structures of dismantled cars and buildings are collected as scrap, melted down, and then recycled into new products.

Recycling of iron and steel scrap plays an important role in supplying precious steel materials in Japan, which has almost no natural resources, and it has accompanied the development of Japan since the Meiji Period (which started in 1868). These days, recycled iron and steel scrap accounts for nearly 30 million of the nearly 120 million tons of steel produced in Japan. (See Note 1) In the past several years, the volume of iron and steel scrap production has exceeded domestic demand, so it is now being exported to overseas markets. Iron and steel scrap from all over Japan, in excess of 6 million tons, is now being exported, with concentration in the Asian region. (See Note 2).

Thus, iron and steel recycling has been going on for a long time, and it has become increasingly international in scope. Recycling is more important than ever before, since we are concerned about utilizing our limited resources and preserving our earth's environment.

The Japan Iron & Steel Recycling Institute is pleased to introduce the processing and distribution of iron and steel scrap to help you gain a greater understanding of iron and steel scrap recycling.