Amount awarded to other party in judgment or settlement of litigation.

No definition available.

Name:	us-gaap_LitigationSettlementAmountAwardedToOtherParty
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of loss contingency liability expected to be resolved within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118942415&loc=d3e14326-108349

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyAccrualCarryingValueCurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of cash outflow reducing loss contingency liability.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyAccrualPayments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Number of claims settled.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyClaimsSettledNumber
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The total number of new claims filed pertaining to a loss contingency during the period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118942415&loc=d3e14435-108349

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyNewClaimsFiledNumber
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of receivable related to a loss contingency accrual. For example, an insurance recovery receivable.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118943654&loc=d3e12053-110248

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyReceivable
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=stpr_GA
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_LitigationCaseAxis=schn_WrongfulDeathLawsuitsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LitigationStatusAxis=us-gaap_SettledLitigationMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LitigationStatusAxis=us-gaap_PendingLitigationMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Commitments and Contingencies - Other (Details)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies - Other (Details)	Nov. 30, 2019 USD ($) lawsuit	May 31, 2020 USD ($) lawsuit	Aug. 31, 2019 USD ($) lawsuit
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Insurance receivable		$ 5,000,000	$ 89,000,000
GEORGIA \| Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Amount Awarded	$ 103,000,000
GEORGIA \| Wrongful Death Lawsuits \| Settled Litigation
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Claims Settled \| lawsuit	2		3
Amount Awarded	$ 68,000,000		$ 35,000,000
GEORGIA \| Wrongful Death Lawsuits \| Pending Litigation
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Claims Filed \| lawsuit		5
Accrual loss contingencies amount		$ 0	83,000,000
Accrual loss contingencies paid amount	$ 83,000,000
Insurance receivable			$ 83,000,000