Weirton Steel: Environment

About Us

Does heavy manufacturing have to take a heavy toll on the environment? At Weirton Steel Corporation we don't think so. Working hand-in-hand with our legislators and government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, we've been able to be good steward of the environment around our manufacturing sites while keeping our company profitable.

Here are a few of the ways Weirton Steel has invested in diminishing its environmental impact:

Curbing smokestack emissions, and using high quality fuel which burns cleaner.

Improving our water processing; in fact, we are returning the water we use in manufacturing to the Ohio River cleaner than when it came out.

Enhancing our recycled steel program; we use 25 percent old steel for every ton of new high quality steel we produce. Most people don't realize that steel is America's most recycled product.

Weirton is committed is to using our natural resources wisely. In many ways conservation lends itself to a more efficient manufacturing process. So thinking green ends up being a good bottom line investment for our company. And that's good for all of us

Steel: America's Most Recycled Material

For the last 30 years, Americans have become accustomed to recycling as a way of life. What few realize is that the steel industry has always been a big part of the recycling stream. Today, the US steel industry recycles millions of tons of steel scrap from recycled cans, automobiles, appliances, construction materials and other steel products each year. This scrap is remelted to produce new steel. In fact, the industry's overall recycling rate is about 68%.

At Weirton Steel, we use about 30% recycled material every day in our Basic Oxygen Furnance. Much of our scrap supply comes from consumer recycled material: cans, appliances, and car parts. As a whole, the industry remelted more than 17.8 billion steel cans into new products. That's about 566 cans recycled every second.

Recycling reduces the solid waste stream. It saves landfills space, and saves valuable energy and natural resources. And every ton of steel recycled saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone.

For more information on the recycling location nearest you for steel cans, appliances and other materials, call the Steel Recycling Institute's: consumer hotline, 1-800-YES-1-CAN (937-1226).