Why Steel is the Most Sustainable Metal

We’ve written before on how integral to the future of recycling steel manufacturing is. We wanted to let you know there are many reasons that add up to make steel the best recyclable metal, and why other metal is still important to to the future of the planet and manufacturing. Steel is by far the best, but things like copper are highly recyclable as well. Always choose green when you can afford it and it increases the quality of your building!

Why Steel is the Best?

Steel is by far the most recyclable for many reasons. The first being that it’s completely recyclable. Every bit of a piece of still can be recycled. Manufacturers know this, which brings us to the next reason. Steel is recycled by around 67 million metric tons every year. This is more than paper, glass, plastic, and aluminum combined. When steel is getting made, nearly every piece of new steel that is made today has some bit of recycled scrap steel used inside. This is because steel is extremely efficient, it’s about a third stronger than the steel made back in the 60’s, and requires the same amount less energy to produce. That’s incredible! Considering how long steel has been around, it’s pretty apparent how much technology should’ve have advanced in it’s production. It’s still amazing to know that we’ve advanced so much in producing steel that we reduce our CO2 emissions (within steel manufacturing alone) by around 80% by recycling steel.

Sustainable Steel

Steel is such a massively recycled metal that the steel manufacturers here in the United States that the energy saved by recycling steel instead of manufacturing virgin steel could supply the entire city of Los Angeles with ten years of power! That’s an amazing return, and we’re proud to take part of the future of the country in such a productive and meaningful way.

Steel is also not very difficult to recycle, the magnetic properties of the metal make it susceptible to electromagnetic disassembly. Magnets are used to separate and alter the metal back into steel scrap for a solid and uniform return. Also, the characteristics of steel allow for it to never begin to diminish no matter how long it’s been recycled. The amazing rates of recyclable steel make it the future of construction without a doubt. But there are other metals with some amazing recyclable properties as well. Some interesting facts from the balance (sustainable business website).

Metal Recycling Facts:

• 25,000 Statues of Liberty can be built with copper that the United States of America recycles per year.
• Currently, 20 percent of the world supply of recovered copper is provided by the US.
• Copper and copper alloy scraps account for nearly half of the total copper consumed annually in America.
• Aluminum was first discovered in the 1820s and until now it is the most abundant metal available on earth. And Aluminum is a very sustainable metal. About two-thirds of all aluminum produced ever is still in use.
• 92 percent of energy can be saved by using aluminum scrap instead of virgin materials in the production of different aluminum products.
• Recycling just one aluminum can will save sufficient energy to run a 100 watt light bulb for around 20 hours, a TV set for around two hours and a computer for around three hours.
• The scrap aluminum that is thrown away every month in the U.S. is enough to rebuild the entire American air fleet.
• Nearly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use. Over 66 percent of aluminum beverage containers were recycled in 2013 (U.S.), the equivalent of 60 billion cans.
• According to one study, 91 percent of all automobile aluminum is recycled.
• In the year 2014, the US scrap industry processed 0.83 million metric tons of copper and 3.4 million metric tons of aluminum.

If you’re a farmer than you probably have a vested interest in the environment. We assure we provide our farmers with the option to produce their product without harming the environment and in turn their livelihood. We use steel because it’s strong, affordable, easy to construct, and sustainable as a material. There’s no other metal as recyclable as steel, and we’ve come along way in recycling. Call in today to purchase your green metal barn or building today, and receive free installation and delivery!