From scrap to steel: A recycling rollercoaster

What is it about?

The article that served as the source and inspiration for the information presented on this page was originally published under the title “Demir çelik sektöründe geri dönüşüm ekonometrisi: Türkiye örneği” in “Troyacademy”, dated 2024, Volume 9(2), pp. 119-142. The content below offers informative and explanatory insights that include personal perspectives on the topic. You are welcome to share your questions, comments and suggestions via the contact channels and academic/social platforms listed in the menus on the right. The author(s) expect proper citation of their original work as a recognition of their scholarly contribution published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Therefore, please refrain from citing this page and instead cite the original article. Please note that this text serves primarily as an introduction and expression of viewpoints. Thank you for your understanding. Imagine a world where steel isn’t just strong. It’s also smart and sustainable! Since the mid-20th century, our ever-growing production and consumption habits have put natural resources under the microscope. Spoiler alert: Mother Earth needs a little TLC, and recycling has become the superhero we didn’t know we needed. Enter the iron and steel industry, the heavyweight champ of many economies but also a big player in resource use. Our mission? To see how Turkey’s steel exports and imports of iron scrap, waste, and ship recycling dance together over time. Using quarterly data from 2013 to 2022, we dove deep with some serious econometrics magic: Johansen cointegration tests checked if these variables are long-term buddies, while the Toda-Yamamoto causality test helped us figure out who’s leading the dance. And guess what? Turkey’s steel exports and scrap imports aren’t just casually connected. They’re moving in sync, showing a strong, positive relationship. This isn’t just a numbers game; it’s a story about smarter production, cleaner recycling, and a steel sector ready to ride the green wave.

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Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The aftermath of World War II didn’t just leave people and countries picking up the pieces, it hit natural resources hard, too. Resource shortages pushed governments to become recycling cheerleaders, encouraging citizens to give materials a second life. Fast forward to the latter half of the 20th century, and booming production and consumption, thanks to demographic shifts, started putting even more pressure on our planet’s limited natural bounty. As natural resources become scarcer, their economic value skyrockets. The iron and steel industry, often called the backbone or locomotive of many economies, feels this squeeze like no other sector. Born from the Industrial Revolution and rooted in processing iron ore, this sector is deeply tied to natural resource management—and its health directly reflects how well a country manages its raw materials. Here’s the kicker: the iron and steel industry isn’t just a one-way street. Its products feed into countless other industries, and scrap or end-of-life steel often finds its way back into the production cycle. This powerful backward-and-forward connection means that smart recycling and efficient resource use aren’t just good ideas; they’re critical strategies for sustaining the industry. That’s why our study zooms in on Turkey’s iron and steel exports, iron scrap imports, and ship recycling imports, key sources of raw material for the sector. Turkey’s active role in global steel trade and ship recycling makes it a perfect case to explore these dynamics. By analyzing quarterly data from 2013 to 2022 with robust time series econometrics, we’ve uncovered insights that don’t just matter on paper; they could help shape smarter policies, greener production, and a stronger steel sector ready to meet future challenges.

Perspectives