Stainless can be painless.
Stainless steel is wonderfully recyclable. When recycled it loses NONE of its qualities. In general, most new stainless steel material is created using around 20-40% recycled content, but this is mainly due to stainless steel being an expensive material. It’s rare, however, to process stainless steel to the 90% recycled grade that we use. And having it all come from post-consumer objects, products that have already been used by you and me rather than off cuts from production, is rarer still. Every time you introduce a recycled element to your material stream you run the risk of contamination from unwanted objects, so we are very proud to run such a tight and controlled process.
This heavy metal, can have a light impact. Read on to find out more about how we do it…
Capture
Stainless steel scrap is collected from various sources, including post-consumer waste. It’s then sorted based on its grade and type to ensure proper recycling and alloy composition.
Sort & Process
The sorted scrap is melted in a furnace, often an electric arc furnace, at very high temperatures (3,000 degrees C) to achieve a molten state. Impurities like sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon are removed from the molten steel through various methods, including electrolysis or using magnets to separate out unwanted materials.
Repurpose
Once refined, the molten steel may need adjustments to its chemical composition. Elements like chromium, nickel, and molybdenum are added to achieve the desired properties for the final product. The molten stainless steel is then cast into different shapes, such as slabs, billets, or blooms, which can be further processed into various products.
New Life
To manufacture our stainless steel bottles and cups we press out then extrude from flat sheets. The inner layer of the bottle or cup is welded to the outer layer creating a gap between the two. We then suck out all the air from between the two, causing a vacuum. It’s not as common now but that is why reusable cups and bottles were once referred to as ‘vacuum flasks’, and it’s that vacuum that prevents the heat transferring from between the layers of the cup or bottle. And so, despite it’s almost 100% recycled quantity, our stainless steel products are our top performers, keeping your drinks icy cold or piping hot. 90% recycled, 100% recyclable, fully insulated, no nonsense.
Repeat
