SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 North American Stainless [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 North American Stainless [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Recycling [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Recycling [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Recycling [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Recycling [Member] North American Stainless [Member] Sales Revenue, Segment [Member] Customer Concentration Risk [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Recycling [Member] North American Stainless [Member] Sales Revenue, Segment [Member] Customer Concentration Risk [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Apr. 01, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Blue Equity [Member]	Apr. 01, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Sixth Amendment [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Sixth Amendment [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	May 31, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Sixth Amendment [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Apr. 01, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Sixth Amendment [Member] Term Loan [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member] Sixth Amendment [Member] Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Nature of Business
Accrual for potential environmental remediation expenses	$ 25,000
Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
Allowance for doubtful accounts	100,000	100,000
Accounts receivable, past due period											30 days	60 days
Major customer percentage									41.20%	44.40%
Accounts receivable, net	13,344,000	17,191,000	27,449,000	4,500,000	8,500,000	12,453,000	16,342,000	24,933,000
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash balance used as collateral for hedged item																				315,900
Factoring Fees
Factoring Fees	199,500	342,800	1,100,000
Advertising Expense
Advertising expense	188,000	83,800	218,900
Subsequent Event
Fixed charge coverage ratio, quarter ending March 31, 2013															0.6
Fixed charge coverage ratio, quarter ending June 30, 2013															1.20
Minimum liquidity covenant																3,000,000
Interest rate increase															0.0175			0.0150	0.0150
Description of variable rate basis													one month LIBOR			one month LIBOR
Basis spread on variable rate													3.25%		5.00%
Percent of eligible inventory															57.50%		55.00%
Maximum inventory amount that can be used in the calculation to determine borrowing base															12,500,000
Fee to Bank															$ 40,000
Management agreement term														12 months
Common stock, shares issued	7,192,479	7,192,479												125,000
Value per share														$ 4.00
Stock options														1,500,000
Exercise price (USD per share)														$ 5.00