All about Stainless Steel
Stainless steel products are designed for the long term and built to last. We’re talking several decades. It can outlive the best of us. It’s a monster!
Stainless steel is one of the top dogs of the metal world. Here’s some of the reasons it deserves this title:
super strong
durable - standing the test of time
100% recyclable
excellent environmental performer
contains raw materials that make it economically viable.
Stainless steel is found everywhere - in our homes, offices and in the construction of buildings and transport across our cities.
It’s used for the smallest of items, like razor blades and cutlery, to being a major part of the biggest items across the world, like skyscrapers, architectural homes, cars, machines and appliances.
Stainless steel goes on and on
Stainless steel is often used for products because it goes on and on. But, there comes a time when it reaches the end of its useful life.
The truth is, in many cases, stainless-steel products could go on for many more years, but products become outdated, or technology has left it behind, or another part of the product has failed. It will then be replaced for an updated model or a more efficient model.
The good news is that once the item is thrown away, it’s often recovered and put into recycling.
Don’t rely on that though. If you really want the updated model and you’re about to chuck out the old one – throw it into the recycling bin.
Stainless steel recycling
Stainless steel is 100% recyclable with around 90% of products containing stainless-steel being recycled to be remelted.
According to ASSDA (Australian Stainless Steel Development Assoc.) most stainless steel objects have approximately 60% recycled content including:
reclaimed scrap - e.g. fridges, washing machines that don’t work
industrial scrap – e.g. offcuts from manufacturing
The remaining 40% is made up of new raw materials.
Recycling the scrap
Stainless steel rarely loses its strength or deteriorates because it contains elements like nickel, molybdenum and chromium. Together they’re nearly as strong as vibranium (perhaps not, given vibranium is a fictional metal in Marvel Comics and films). But you get the point – it’s T O U G H.
All the elements that make up stainless steel are valuable in their own right and can be removed for remelting.
A recycling processor shreds the metal into small pieces. It’s then analysed and sorted into types or blended with other steel scraps and shipped off to steel mills – often overseas.
At the mill, the steel is melted, impurities removed and made into slabs, sheets or blocks of stainless steel for manufacturing. And so it starts life again.
Environmental-efficient stainless steel
This melting process can happen again and again and again. Even when the stainless steel has been used in products for decades, it can still go through the recycling process several more times.
Stainless steel can be returned to its original quality and used again as a major part of buildings, cars, ships, tools, machines and appliances.
Throw stainless steel into the recycling bin and the next time you see it is when it’s been re-born. Made into everyday items like kitchen sinks, pans, cutlery – all sparkling new.
The future of stainless steel
The bottom line – stainless steel is great for the environment as it can be re-used time and time again, without losing its quality.
Want to recycle your scrap stainless steel?
Have you got stainless steel lying around at home? Why not take advantage of our free metal collection service? Call us today – we’ll pay you the best prices for your scrap metal.
If you’d like to know more about what we do, take a look at our full range of metal recycling services.