Recycled Content

Recycled content of products manufactured at Port Kembla Steelworks, NSW

At Port Kembla Steelworks, NSW, BlueScope uses the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking method to manufacture flat steel products. BlueScope has increased scrap use in the steelmaking process from approx. 21.5% to 25% between FY19 and FY22. This is world leading performance for a BOF and we’re looking to go further.

The average recycled content in the steel is 23.3% which includes pre- and post-consumer recycled materials. Materials reclaimed within the steelmaking process represent an additional 2.1% average recovered content. According to recycled content categories defined in ISO 14021:2016. The figures provided are based on FY24 data.

To request a formal letter on the average recycled content of our products, reported in line with ISO 14021:2016 definitions, please contact BlueScope Steel Direct.

To understand more about the role of scrap steel in steelmaking, including in different steelmaking technologies, visit How Steel is Made.

Embodied carbon and scrap steel content

There is a strong relationship between scrap steel content and the embodied carbon of steel products, however, due to scrap dynamics outlined here, scrap steel content is not necessarily a useful metric to assess the sustainability of steel products.

More information on this subject can be found on our Embodied Carbon page. See also this article from ResponsibleSteel™ The ‘Sliding Scale’: Setting Equitable Thresholds to Drive Global Steel Decarbonisation.