We’ve said it before – but we’re not afraid of repeating ourselves when it comes to this fact. Steel is the most recycled material on the planet, which makes our DIY building kits some of the greenest buildings to be found.
If that wasn’t enough of a benefit, our prefabricated and pre-engineered metal buildings dramatically reduce construction time, which means you’ll save money on labor even if you choose to have someone help you put it up.
Forever Strong
One of the reasons why steel gets so much attention is that it’s one of the few materials that is actually 100% recyclable. It retains all its strength no matter how many times it’s used again. People often compare steel buildings to concrete buildings. Unfortunately, at the end of their usefulness, concrete buildings can’t be recycled and used again the way steel can.
The concrete can be recycled, but the end product is no longer used to make more concrete buildings. And, concrete isn’t efficiently recycled. Only about half of concrete can be reused. The rest makes its way to our landfills. What’s more, concrete is made with cement, and this substance is a considerable source of carbon dioxide emissions. It’s estimated that the production of cement and its use in creating concrete produces up to 5% of global greenhouse gasses.
Again and Again
In the United States, we recycle over 70% of all steel cans, as well as 90% of all steel appliances. We should be proud of the 93% recycle rate for vehicles – but these statistics have to step aside because almost 100% of all structural steel is recycled.
There’s a practical explanation for this. It turns out the recycling steel costs less than it does to produce virgin steel. Of course, there’s the savings on raw materials – but there’s also a massive savings in energy. A single ton of recycled steel saves over 10 million BTUs of energy.
Domestic structural steel generally contains over 90% recycled steel, and our country’s super-efficient steel scrap collection system is capable of recapturing about 98% of all discarded steel products to use for recycling. This is mainly due to its magnetic properties, which make steel relatively economic to handle for recycling.
It’s why you’ll have to pay someone to dispose of old concrete used on construction, but steel scrap dealers will gladly pay you for the privilege of hauling away any steel you have from the demolition of an old building. Check out our current building specials here!
