Document and Entity Information Document	3 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2013	Jan. 03, 2014 Class A Common Stock [Member]	Jan. 03, 2014 Class B Common Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Nov. 30, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Registrant Name	SCHNITZER STEEL INDUSTRIES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000912603
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--08-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		26,305,256	305,900