‘Green steel’ receives seal of approval from environment organisation

A FORM of recycled steel has received the seal of approval from one of Scotland’s key environment organisations.

According to a paper published by Zero Waste Scotland, the so-called ‘green steel’ comprises scrap steel, including that harvested from the decommissioning of North Sea oil rigs.

Says the paper, some 820,000 tonnes of Scottish scrap steel was sent abroad for remelting in 2018. Notwithstanding the energy and pollution used in the transportation of the metal, there is no guarantee – argues the paper’s authors – that the remelting processes employed abroad uses environmentally-responsible technologies, with some potentially even using coal.

Instead of sending scrap steel abroad, the paper recommends a heating system using a coal-free technology that would be using Scotland’s largely renewable energy grid.

Begins a media release issued by Zero Waste Scotland (here): “[Our] analysts detail the ‘clear and obvious’ environmental benefits of using Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology, powered by Scotland’s low-carbon electricity grid, to remanufacture scrap steel in Scotland.”

The release goes on to claim that this approach might reduce carbon emissions by up to 60 per cent, compared to sending the steel elsewhere.

It adds that there might be also a jobs dividend.

Picture credit: Place Design Scotland