Salzgitter: Germany's largest scrapyard - scrap behind steel!
Salzgitter is home to one of the largest scrap yards in Germany, where over a million tons of scrap metal are processed for steel production every year.

Salzgitter: Germany's largest scrapyard - scrap behind steel!
Things are going really well in Salzgitter at the moment! One of the largest scrapyards in Germany is located there, covering an area the size of almost 60 football fields. With meter-high mountains of scrap, including old cars and defective household appliances, over a million tonnes of scrap is processed here every year. The scrap is sorted, dismantled and transported further, with a significant proportion being sent to the steelworks of Salzgitter AG, the second largest steel producer in Germany. That reports prisma.de.
Why is recycling scrap so important? The production of climate-neutral, “green steel” now plays a major role, and this is where recycled scrap comes into play. Steel scrap is 100 percent recyclable, making it a valuable raw material in the production chain. On hectic days, when the trucks arrive at short intervals, foreman Markus Seppelt ensures that each load is checked for foreign substances such as tin and plastic. Particularly dangerous items, such as old gas bottles, must be removed by hand to avoid the risk of explosion.
Technological support
But it's not just the logistics that have to be right, the technical systems are also crucial. As is common in modern warehouses and production facilities, sophisticated ones are coming today Inventory Management Systems used to enable efficient tracking and management of inventory. These systems monitor inventory in real time, assist with replenishment planning, and ensure everything runs smoothly. It's about having the right materials in the right place at the right time to maximize production efficiency.
A big advantage of such systems is the possibility of data analysis. By providing comprehensive reports on inventory performance, they could help identify bottlenecks early and optimize production processes. Such systems are particularly valuable in scrap processing because they can efficiently manage the dynamics of the constant arrival and processing of scrap.
Insight into production
In the steelworks in Peine, the old scrap is ultimately melted down to produce new steel. The electric arc furnace used heats the steel to an astonishing 1,600 degrees and requires an output of 100 megawatts when switched on. This shows how valuable the process of scrap processing is for the entire industry. The state-of-the-art machines, including a scrap metal shredding facility, can reduce entire cars into centimeter-sized fragments.
In summary, it can be said that Salzgitter is not only an Eldorado for scrap processing, but also a prime example of the future-oriented use of technologies in the recycling process. It remains to be seen what further developments in the industry and other technologies will come our way. The scrapyard in Salzgitter impressively shows how complex and important the topic of recycling is for our environment and industry.