Zinc is a recyclable material. At present, about 30% of the world's zinc supply comes from recycled zinc. In other words, some 3 million tons of zinc are recycled every year.

Zinc is recycled from zinc-containing products which are recovered after use: post consumer waste such as brass fixtures and fittings (brass is an alloy of zinc and copper), die-cast zinc parts and galvanized steel, recovered from automobiles, household appliances or electrical components. Zinc is also recovered from process scrap, such as galvanizing residues, furnace dust and ashes, offcuts, foundry returns and brass machining scrap. The brass industry alone recovers more than 600,000 tons of zinc each year.

It is difficult to estimate precisely the recovery rate of zinc since many zinc products have a very long life span. For example, zinc sheet used for roofing can be expected to last for over 100 years without maintenance before it becomes available for recycling. Nevertheless, estimates based on historical consumption and product life cycles suggest 80% of the zinc available for recycling is in fact recycled. Zinc can be recycled indefinitely without any loss of its physical or chemical properties.