Stainless Steel: Naturally “Green”

With “green” products becoming more and more important, it’s worth remembering that stainless steel has always been green, since long before it was fashionable to be. It’s green by default.

There is no waste in the product, it can be used again and again; it’s the ultimate recyclable material. Stainless steel is 100% recyclable into the same product with no reduction in quality. The main source of raw material for stainless steel is recycled scrap metal: over 90% of all new stainless steel is produced from it and 92% of the stainless steel used in architecture, building, and construction applications is recaptured and recycled at the end of service. That’s why LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) points are awarded for its use. Best of all, the economics of today’s stainless steel-making industry depends on recycling, which means it benefits the bottom line just as it does the environment. That’s a win/win!

Even the steel-making process has embraced an environmental approach. The scrap is melted electrically and, in most cases, refined using inert air-distilled gases such as argon. Great care is taken to minimize fumes and dust emissions. Some plants are equipped to recycle dust during the steel-making process. Most steel-processing consumable materials including cooling water, lubricating oil, pickling acid, and interleaving paper are recycled at the plant or by specialized contractors. Even the pickling acid residue is recycled.

Since stainless is composed of corrosion resistant alloys, it has a relatively long life expectancy. Because it requires virtually no maintenance, it offers more attractive “life-cycle cost” benefits over alternative materials with less initial cost, like carbon steel.

Our LEED-credit information on the web site relates pre- and post-consumer content, but with stainless steel that’s really irrelevant. For many products that post-consumer number is important because it tells us that the product we’re buying is made from material that used to be something else. It’s a hallmark for most products. But for stainless steel, it’s a given. Since virtually all new stainless steel comes from old scrap, it’s virtually all “post-consumer”.

If being environmentally conscious is important to you, you can’t do better than using stainless steel products. But be warned when purchasing Ultra-tec components: they are very attractive to thieves looking to collect the “bounty” on any stainless steel they can sell to scrap yards!

Sources for this blog posting: Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA), International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), Julien Inc., Earth 911, Mother Nature Network.