Reclaimed structural steel - is it propping up decarbonised buildings?

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Written by

Paul Malone - Marketing Manager

To contact please email: paul.malone@mainer.co.uk

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Organisations used to shy away from using reclaimed structural steel. There was a stigma in reusing anything integral to a building’s structure. So, what’s changed?

It’s all about Net-Zero Carbon (NZC) targets. These targets have driven demand, leading to the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) announcing a new model specification for steel suppliers.

Reclaimed steelwork is now a realistic option for the market.

Modelling reassurance – confident reuse.

The model specification between the stockholder and the purchasing steelwork contractor should help to reduce concerns about reusing steel. The stockholder is responsible for the steel test and certification, which enables the contractor to have confidence in their purchase.

A spokesperson for the BCSA said this:

“The supply chain will need to adapt to these new procurement models. Steel reuse is an important demand-side reduction measure under the circular economy strategy within the BCSA 2050 decarbonisation roadmap published last year.”

The new model specification sits comfortably with the drive towards Reversible Building Design, Buildings as Material Banks and the Circular Economy. There is a move towards value chains predicated upon reusing or regenerating materials. Reuse the operative word here - not recycling via remelting.

UK performance in scrap export

In 2020 the UK had the highest level of scrap steel export in the EU. Due to Covid, export was down 14.4% from its 2019 level, to 5.661 million tonnes. That’s a lot of steel available for reuse here in the UK. Reuse plays an important part in the reduction of steel scrap export. Indeed, just five years ago, the UK was exporting 70% of its steel scrap.

Reusing structural steel isn’t a new phenomenon, as this quote from New Steel Construction illustrates:

“the practice was more prevalent in the past but has declined over the last few decades. The main reasons being new development programme constraints and tougher health and safety requirements in relation to demolition activities, in particular, working at height.”

Reuse in practise

 So, how does the new model framework enable structural steel reuse? It provides permanent work systems in the supply chain – making reuse an integral part of construction.

There are potential barriers to the successful implementation of the framework -

• A lack of component standardisation

• Supply availability

• Realistic client expectations as to the cost of ‘second-hand’ products

However, the new model specification should reduce these concerns.

The circular economy

So, how does reclaimed steel slot into the circular economy? Specialist Sustainable Consultancy, Mainer gives us a clear answer - 

“The construction industry is one of the world’s largest waste generators. One way to drive the circular economy is to increase the value of buildings in both the medium and long term by designing them dynamically and flexibly to create a circular building value chain and push the shift to a circular building sector. This requires disassembling end-of-life buildings when they are no longer required and re-using the materials. The idea is to reduce the use of virgin resources and reduce construction and demolition waste in favour of re-use.”

Mining, heating and shaping steel are energy-intensive. Efficient steel reuse reduces energy use, makes the material more sustainable and has whole life impacts .

Efficient steel reuse has whole life impacts – including energy use reduction and sustainable material use.

Reuse will mean a reduction in a business’s value chain and Scope 3 emissions as a bonus. Reusing steel is part of Module D, a supplementary model to the European (CEN) standards. The model relates to the sustainability assessment of construction works by calculating additional recycling or reuse benefits.

2050 Decarbonisation goals

Let’s look at the BCSA 2050 decarbonisation roadmap. The clue’s in the name. It sets out exactly how, by 2050, the UK structural steelwork sector will decarbonise in line with the government’s targets. Reusing steel is only a part of carbon reduction, “the carbon intensity of UK steel production has been reduced by around 60% since 1960 and 20% since 1990; the baseline for the UK’s 2050 net-zero reduction targets”.

As part of this, a well-established scrap network today recovers 99% of all UK structural sections. While 86% of that is recycled, only 13% is reused. This is the BCSA’s vision of the future:

“In the second quarter of the century, designers and the supply chain capitalised on the inherent demountable attributes of steel structures to enable mainstream reuse of structural elements. Small changes were made in the choice of detailing to maximise bolting and minimise welding, demountable composite beam and slab systems employing bolted shear connectors were widely rolled out and adopted, platform-based approaches and greater standardisation were embraced, and BIM [building information modelling] has facilitated the development of a national database of steel stock held within UK buildings.”

Reinventing reuse 

The vision is there. It’s about the will. Reuse is better for the environment than recycling - which involves more processes and energy. Let’s see how the figures change between now and 2050.

If you thinking about using reclaimed steel, or would like to talk about Net Zero carbon targets, please feel free to contact one of our experts using our ‘Get in Touch’ page

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