# The impact of recycling steel

Markdown version of https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/impact. Updated on 2026-11-08.

Making steel from scrap emits far less than making it from iron ore and coal. This page brings together what the most serious sources publish, with their exact figures and links, and explains the potential Mexico has.

## Why it matters

The steel industry generates between 7% and 9% of global CO₂ emissions[^ws-facts]. Almost all of that CO₂ comes from turning ore into iron with coal. Scrap is already metallic iron: melting it skips that step.

## CO₂ per tonne of steel, by route

- **2.34 t**: of CO₂ per tonne of steel in blast furnace and converter (2024)[^ws-indicators]
- **1.47 t**: of CO₂ per tonne with direct reduced iron and electric furnace (2024)[^ws-indicators]
- **0.69 t**: of CO₂ per tonne with scrap in an electric furnace (2024)[^ws-indicators]
- **1.92 t**: of CO₂ per tonne, world average for 2024[^ws-indicators]

These are averages of the worldsteel CO₂ indicator, which covers direct emissions, purchased electricity and part of the supply chain[^ws-indicators]. The scrap route comes in at less than a third of the ore route.

## What recycling already avoids worldwide

In 2022 the industry recycled between 650 and 700 million tonnes of scrap and, according to worldsteel, saved about 1,000 million tonnes of CO₂ that would have been emitted making that steel from ore[^ws-facts]. The Bureau of International Recycling reports that world use of recycled steel reached 630 million tonnes in 2025[^bir-2025]. The two figures measure different scopes and are not added together.

## Raw materials that stay underground

Per tonne of crude steel, the electric furnace uses on average 710 kg of scrap and 586 kg of iron ore; the blast furnace uses 125 kg of scrap and 1,370 kg of ore, plus 780 kg of coal and 270 kg of limestone[^ws-facts]. More scrap in the furnace means less mining, less coal and less ore shipping.

## Energy

The WARM model of the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates, for steel cans, 31.58 million BTU of process energy per short ton from virgin inputs against 11.78 million from recycled inputs, excluding transport[^epa-warm]. A short ton is 907 kg. It is a specific case, not an average for all steel.

The same model credits recycling steel cans with a net reduction of 1.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per short ton, against 0.02 of net emissions if they go to landfill[^epa-warm].

## Water

> We did not find a water savings figure per tonne of recycled steel in a verifiable primary source, so we do not publish one. We prefer a gap to an unsupported number.

## Mexico's potential

Mexico already makes 95.9% of its steel in electric furnaces[^ws-figures]. That means the country competes for clean, well graded scrap: every tonne that sits in a yard, gets mixed with waste or is exported ungraded is raw material a Mexican mill has to replace with imported scrap or with direct reduced iron, which emits more[^ws-indicators].

- **Recover more.** Industrial process scrap (stamping, machining, structures) is the cleanest and is often sold poorly or lost in mixed loads.
- **Grade better.** Separating stainless, turnings and heavy scrap, and removing copper and non metallics, lets mills use more scrap and less direct reduced iron.
- **Document it.** With real weights, CFDI and Carta Porte, every tonne can count in the sustainability report of whoever generated it. See [how we calculate it](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/impact-methodology).

Every lot that goes through Bluegreen ends in a certificate with a folio anyone can verify. See [what each report includes](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/reports).

## Frequently asked questions

### How much CO₂ does a tonne of scrap avoid?

It depends on the route it is compared with and the mill that melts it. As a reference, worldsteel reports 0.69 t of CO₂ per tonne of scrap based electric furnace steel against 2.34 t in a blast furnace (2024)[^ws-indicators]. Our certificates use versioned factors with sources, explained in the methodology.

### Is electric furnace steel "green"?

It emits far less than the ore route, but not zero: part of its emissions depends on how the electricity it uses is generated. That is why we talk about avoided emissions, not neutral steel.

### Can I use these figures in my sustainability report?

You can cite them with their source. For your inventory, the GHG Protocol asks for emissions avoided by recycling to be reported separately and not deducted from scope 3[^ghg-scope3]. We explain it in the methodology.

## Sources

[^ws-facts]: World Steel Association (worldsteel), «#SteelFacts, June 2026 update» (2026). https://worldsteel.org/wp-content/uploads/SteelFacts_update-June-2026.pdf
[^ws-indicators]: World Steel Association (worldsteel), «Sustainability Indicators Report 2025» (2025). https://worldsteel.org/wider-sustainability/sustainability-indicators/sustainability-indicators-report-2025/
[^bir-2025]: Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), «Global recycled steel use reaches 630 million tonnes in 2025» (2025). https://www.bir.org/news-press/bir-in-the-press/1000042525-global-recycled-steel-use-reaches-630-million-tonnes-in-2025
[^epa-warm]: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), «WARM versión 16: Containers, Packaging, and Non-Durable Good Materials Chapters (EPA-530-R-23-021), chapter 2: Metals» (2023). https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-12/warm_containers_packaging_and_non-durable_goods_materials_v16_dec.pdf
[^ws-figures]: World Steel Association (worldsteel), «World Steel in Figures 2026» (2026). https://worldsteel.org/wp-content/uploads/World-Steel-in-Figures-2026.pdf
[^ghg-scope3]: GHG Protocol (WRI and WBCSD), «Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions, version 1.0, category 5» (2013). https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/Scope3_Calculation_Guidance_0%5B1%5D.pdf