AK Steel announced the construction of a new recycling facility at its Ashland (Ky.) Works to process and recycle waste materials from the plant's blast furnace, cokemaking operation and continuous caster.

The new facility is capable of recycling up to 250,000 tons of waste per year and recovering iron and carbon units that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.

Waste materials processed in the recycling facility are transformed into a product called cold-bonded briquettes. The briquettes will be used as feedstock for the Ashland Works blast furnace which produces iron as a first step in the steelmaking process. The use of briquettes as a feedstock will significantly reduce the amount of purchased raw materials needed for the Ashland Works ironmaking operation.

"Installation of this recycling facility at Ashland Works is another step in AK Steel's long-term raw materials strategy," said James L. Wainscott, President and CEO of AK Steel. "The new facility will provide AK Steel with an economical way to recycle valuable raw materials which will reduce operating costs and result in a significant benefit to the environment."

The waste recycling facility was constructed by National Recovery Systems (NRS), East Chicago, Ind., which also owns and operates it. AK Steel has awarded a multi-year contract to NRS, which owns and operates four similar waste recycling facilities in the United States and licenses its technology in the United Kingdom. The new recycling facility at Ashland Works became operational on September 26, 2005.

Headquartered in Middletown, Ohio, AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, as well as carbon and stainless tubular steel products, for automotive, appliance, construction and manufacturing markets.