Consumption Steel use in any country is closely linked to its economy, with the largest consumption in the wealthiest countries of the world. Production also differs according to the types of steel required, from the basic grades for heavy construction uses to the most specialised custom steels. In basic oxygen steelmaking, scrap represents up to 30 percent of the raw materials charged into the furnace. Steel's magnetic properties make it simple to extract from other materials for recycling. Approximately 350 million tons of steel scrap are recycled each year.
Stainless steel is a very valuable commodity and is therefore almost entirely recycled.
There is no one factor to explain the many environmental improvements achieved by the steel industry in recent years. Steelmakers have therefore achieved even further emissions reductions by investing in overall cleaner production, better maintenance and improved practices. New technologies, operating practices, employee education and management attention have all been important. Many of the improvements have resulted from very heavy investment programmes. Employment Steel production in the world has risen by approximately 30 percent in the past 25 years.