In eToolLCD, we have default recycled content assumptions for most steel products in our material library. These figures are based on the Recycling Rates of Metals status report by Thomas E. Graedel, published by the UNEP International Resource Panel. You can see this source referenced (little green flag next to the input) in some of our validated public templates and find the reference in our Reference Library as covered in Module 6 of our Intermediate Training Course.

According to this report, recycling rates of metals are in many cases far lower than their potential for reuse. “Less than one-third of some 60 metals studied have an end-of-life recycling rate above 50 per cent and 34 elements are below 1 per cent recycling, yet many of them are crucial to clean technologies such as batteries for hybrid cars to the magnets in wind turbines”, says the study.

You can download the report here or visit: https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/recycling-rates-metals