Bruna Alves
Research lead covering environment and sustainability
Scrap materials in the U.S. - statistics & facts
Scrap recycling is a thriving business in the U.S., with its economic impact estimated at more than 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. The country’s scrap recycling industry directly employed nearly 160 thousand people that same year, with this figure more than tripling when also considering supplier and induced jobs. With the U.S.’ race toward decarbonizing its economy boosting the demand for raw materials, the scrap recycling industry is expected to play an ever-growing role in the coming decades.
Looking into the future, the demand for scrap materials is expected to remain high. As the U.S. makes strides towards transitioning to renewable energy sources and attempts to reduce its critical minerals’ imports reliance, recycled metal will meet an ever-growing share of metal demand.
How big is the U.S. scrap material industry?
On average, some 140 million metric tons of recycled materials are processed in the U.S. every year. Iron and steel scrap are by far the most recycled materials, accounting for half of this figure. An additional 45 million metric tons of recovered paper and fiber are also processed annually. Meanwhile, although they account combined for less than 10 percent the volume of scrap material recycled in the U.S., the value of aluminum and copper recycled from scrap stood at 18 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, roughly the same value generated by iron and steel. This result was mainly boosted by a spike in prices recorded that year.Scrap prices trends
The price of scrap is ruled by the supply and demand of its raw counterparts in the market. In 2021, prices of scrap metals in the U.S. saw a massive spike, as the supply of raw metals could not keep up with the country’s growing demand in the post-covid recovery. Iron and steel scrap prices surpassed 400 U.S. dollars per metric ton that year, an annual increase of 84 percent. Aluminum scrap prices also saw a growth of more than 60 percent year-over-year and went on to reach an all-time high in 2022. Although scrap prices for all materials have since been on a downward trend, a series of supply chain disruptions in recent years – including the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the interruption of shipping routes across the Red Sea and Suez Canal – have all contributed to keeping scrap metal prices above pre-pandemic levels.Looking into the future, the demand for scrap materials is expected to remain high. As the U.S. makes strides towards transitioning to renewable energy sources and attempts to reduce its critical minerals’ imports reliance, recycled metal will meet an ever-growing share of metal demand.
