Reuse and Recycle. Changing Actors and Material Practices of Brussels' Iron Scrap Trade (1880-1950)

In the early twentieth century, a new production process enabled steel to be produced entirely from metal scrap. As demand for scrap increased, a flourishing industry emerged—dedicated to the collection, sorting, processing, and resale of metal scrap. What impact did this new recycling network have on the construction industry? Were fewer metal building components reused? Or did both practices of reuse and recycling adapt and coexist?
This paper addresses this question through a detailed case study of a modular iron market hall in Brussels (1880–1945), whose components were pre-used, relocated, reused, and partially recycled across six decades. Drawing on unique municipal archives, the building’s lifecycle is reconstructed, and the networks of demolition contractors, material resellers, scrap dealers, wholesale scrap merchants, and foundries are mapped.
We argue that reuse and recycling were not sequential stages but interwoven practices, shaped by shifting economic valuations, labour models, and material characteristics. While obsolete cast iron was scrapped, standardised wrought-iron I-beams retained their value for reuse—even during periods of wartime scarcity. These dynamics were embedded in local infrastructures and urban economies that facilitated the sorting, sale, and recirculation of metals. In doing so, the paper contributes to a more nuanced history of construction and demolition, in which the afterlife of building materials was not only materially determined, but also socially and economically constructed.