China: Scrap Recycling Projects Mushrooming at Fast Pace

In our recent visit to China, we discovered the growing prominence of Steel Scrap in the country. Despite the Scrap Recycling industry being in the nascent stage, the market atmosphere was abuzz with talk of rising scrap generation, consumption and processing -- thus indicating the imminence of a dynamic Steel Scrap Recycling Industry in the said country. Most steel mills in China are keen on setting up a scrap recycling plant, looking at the amount of scrap generation that is likely to be available and the growing need of using Scrap in the feedstock.

Moreover, one thing remains obvious; the Chinese government is taking action to clear up one thing, the sky. Demand for steel scrap is likely to increase; for instance new capacity in China is likely to be EAF based due to environmental concerns and this marks a structural policy shift.

According to the statistics from China Scrap Iron & Steel Association, from January to September this year, the output of crude steel in the country was 6,387.3 million tons, up 5.8% Y-o-Y.

The total consumption of scrap steel exceeded 101 million tons, an increase of 56.5% (during Jan-Sep'17); Scrap ratio as feedstock reached 15.85%, an increase of 5% over the same period.

According to industry experts, the "13th Five-Year Plan" will be a major turning point in the development of China's scrap iron industry and also an important period for increasing the amount of scrap resources in the country. It will also enhance the proportion of scrap steel in China and help promote the green and sustainable development of China's steel industry.

Consequently, a number of new scrap recycling and processing plants are being set up across the country. Some of the prominent projects are mentioned below:

Source: China Metallurgical Newspaper