By 2010, demand for obsolete scrap and alternative iron will reach 45.8 million metric tons. But the supply of obsolete scrap currently is steady. Recycling rates also have risen steadily over the past decade. The recycling rate, which is the ratio of cans manufactured to the volume collected and processed into scrap, was 58.2 percent. Municipal agencies typically operate MRFs.
Recycled cans are available in three forms.
Bundles with medium densities of at least 50 pounds per cubic foot typically are prepared by an MRF with a general-purpose baler. Mills also can purchase loose cans, but demand for them is declining rapidly. Despite their rising acceptance as a scrap classification, steel cans still aren't considered a scrap commodity on the level of heavy-melting steel, bundles, or shredded and haven't become a grade commonly sold on the open market. Cans' scrap classification hasn't become a market standard because most cans now are used unbaled as feedstock for shredders, a Chicago processor says. Using cans allows sellers to produce a high-priced commodity from cheap, virtually unprocessed feedstock.