of stainless steel components are often offset by improvements in operating and maintenance costs, reduced loss of production (LP) costs, and the higher resale value of stainless steel components. LCC calculations are usually limited to the project itself. However, there may be other costs that a project stakeholder may wish to consider: Utilities, such as power plants, water supply & wastewater treatment, and hospitals, cannot be shut down. Any maintenance will require extra costs associated with continuing service. Indirect societal costs (with possible political fallout) may be incurred in some situations such as closing or reducing traffic on bridges, creating queues, delays, loss of working hours to the people, and increased pollution by idling vehicles. Sustainability–recycling and reuse The average carbon footprint of stainless steel (all grades, all countries) is estimated to be 2.90 kg of CO2 per kg of stainless steel produced, of which 1.92 kg are emissions from raw materials (Cr, Ni, Mo); 0.54 kg from electricity and steam, and 0.44 kg are direct emissions (i.e., by the stainless steel plant). Note that stainless steel produced in countries that use cleaner sources of electricity (such as France, which uses nuclear energy) will have a lower carbon footprint. Ferritics without Ni will have a lower CO2 footprint than austenitics with 8% Ni or more. Carbon footprint must not be the only sustainability-related factor for deciding the choice of materials: Over any product life, maintenance, repairs or early end of life (planned obsolescence) can increase its overall footprint far beyond initial material differences. In addition, loss of service (typically for bridges) may induce large hidden costs, such as queues, wasted fuel, and loss of man-hours. How much material is used to provide a given service varies with the performance, particularly the strength level, which allows lighter structures and components. Stainless steel is 100% recyclable. An average stainless steel object is composed of about 60% recycled material of which approximately 40% originates from end-of-life products, while the remaining 60% comes from manufacturing processes. What prevents a higher recycling content is the availability of stainless steel scrap, in spite of a very high recycling rate. According to the International Resource Panel's Metal Stocks in Society report, the per capita stock of stainless steel in use in society is in more developed countries and in less-developed countries. There is a secondary market that recycles usable scrap for many stainless steel markets. The product