Investment manager Van Eck Global launched ETFs based on the steel and environmental services industries on the American Stock Exchange on Monday.

The Market Vectors - Environmental Services ETF seeks to track a new Amex Environmental Services Index that is made up of 24 companies involved in waste management, recycling, environmental management or consulting.

The Market Vectors - Steel ETF seeks to track a new Amex Steel index which consists of 39 companies involved in steel manufacturing, mill operation, or extraction and reduction of iron ore.

Both indices use a modified market capitalization weighting system, an announcement said.

The companies in the Steel ETF have a combined market capitalization of about $268 billion, while the companies in the Environmental ETF have a combined market capitalization of about $129 billion.

The price-to-earnings ratio on the Environmental index is about 32.4 and the PE ration on the Steel index it is about 11.0.

Two of the companies in the Environmental ETF are foreign firms, represented by American Depositary Receipts. For the steel ETF, 29 of the companies are based in North America and 10 are foreign firms represented by ADRs.

ETFs trade throughout the day on exchanges and are bought and sold through brokers.

New York-based Van Eck Global manages about $3.8 billion.