Samples of steel produced and separated by a waste fragmenter, 1996.

Steel can be repeatedly recycled without deterioration of quality or desirable properties and is therefore one of the most recycled materials in the world. Scrap steel is routinely used as feedstock in steel production alongside raw materials, and it is estimated that about 50% of the total EU steel production is derived from recycled scrap.

During the recycling process, disposed goods containing steel are passed through a waste fragmenter, which shreds the goods into small pieces. Scrap steel is separated out from this fragmented solid waste by use of a magnet, and then melted down and reprocessed to produce new steel. This sample of steel fragments represents the stage in the steel recycling process where the steel has been separated, but not yet reprocessed.