With 72% of steel packaging recycled in 2010, steel is the most recycled packaging material in Europe.
With steel, natural resources are saved for future generations and total energy use and CO2 emissions are significantly reduced.
High steel recycling rate saves CO2 emissions
In fact, every steel packaging being recycled saves one and a half times its weight in CO2. In other words, the more steel is recycled, the greater the reduction in CO2 emissions. In 2010 alone, recycling 2.4Mt of steel for packaging in Europe prevented as much as 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released into the environment.
Recycled steel for ressource efficiency
The recycling of every ton of steel saves 1.5 ton of iron ore, 0.65 ton of coal and 0.3 ton of limestone. Moreover, 7 months of energy consumption of one person and more than 40% of water are also preserved.
Know more about ressource efficiency listening to Mr Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment, on the occasion of a debate hosted by Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Member of the European Parliament: Metal's contribution to a resource efficient Europe and organised by Metal Packaging Europe (MPE) on the 24th of January 2012.
Sustainability is a value for ArcelorMittal as published in its environment policy.
In the case of raw material from conflicting countries, ArcelorMittal follows the OECD guidance for responsible supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
Steel’s energy‐free storage requirements bring additional environmental benefits all along the production and consumption processes. Frozen food, for example, requires 70% more energy throughout the supply chain than canned food.
Steel packaging’s unique preservation qualities play an important part in preventing food waste by ensuring that food keeps its nutritional qualities and taste for longer. In addition, portion sized packaging helps to minimise food waste.