2016Yearbook_Flipbook

2016

THE I SR I SCRAP YEARBOOK

Lead and Zinc

Zinc and lead are the two most widely used nonferrous metals after aluminum and copper. Although lead has been used for centuries as a building material and to produce ceramic glazes,

Other uses of lead include rolled and extruded products, shot and ammunition, alloys, pigments and compounds, and cable sheathing. USGS figures show that 1.12 million metric tons of secondary lead was produced in the U.S. last year – an amount equivalent to 69 percent of apparent domestic lead consumption, of which the vast majority was recovered from postconsumer scrap.

leaded glass and crystal, paints, or other protective coatings, lead’s emergence as an important industrial metal

The U.S. Lead Industry

LEAD RECOVERED FROM SCRAP (MT)

TOTAL LEAD USAGE (MT)

LEAD SCRAP EXPORTS (MT)

YEAR 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1,130,000 1,110,000 1,150,000 1,130,000 1,120,000

1,540,000 1,500,000 1,700,000 1,670,000 1,620,000

31,000 26,000 34,000 36,000 46,000

in the modern ages dates from the development of storage battery technology in the mid-19th century. The recycling of automotive-type batteries spawned a viable secondary lead smelting industry in the United States. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey reports that lead-acid batteries again accounted for about 90 percent of domestic lead use.

Source: USGS, Census Bureau, ISRI Estimates

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INSTITUTE OF SCRAP RECYCLING INDUSTRIES, INC.