Undoubtedly, it is impossible to spot an object around the room that does not contain a trace of steel– the bed, air conditioner, refrigerator, or chair to name a few. Steel is omnipresent in our lives, even away from the city and in summer vacation scenes. The truth is steel’s eco-friendly properties have primarily granted such boundless currency. Taking a closer look through common occasions of encountering steel will reveal its predominance and its worth for both humankind and the environment.

Recycling Reaches the Dining Table

The smell of baby back ribs and sausages rises from outdoor grills in the backyard of a home. It is the scent of summer barbeque party in a family home with some invited guests and neighbors enjoying the wait to feast. The man of the house thoroughly cooks the meat and veggies on the grill. On the outdoor dining table, there are plenty of canned food servings such as corn, green peas, baked beans, and even fruit to serve along with the grilled foods. As soon as the grilled meat and skewers are ready, the adults at the table open bottles of beer to celebrate the holiday season.

It is a common yet easily overlooked fact that most canned foods, jar lids, bottle caps we store our foods and beverages in are made from stainless steel. And not to mention the high-quality steel used to make the barbecue grills, an essential summer household item. Even the daily utensils like forks, knives, and spoons we use to cook and eat with are steel-made. Basically, these are ubiquitous yet necessary tools for us to last or even survive a normal day.

Once used and discarded, the steel scraps are easily removed from waste streams due to steel’s magnetic property. This convenience for reuse is the foremost process where steel’s recyclable quality takes effect. These steel scraps are then processed by melting and molding to serve its next purpose. It’s worth noting even after countless recycling, the corrosion-resistant durability of steel enables reuse time and again without downgrading, disguised as brand new to any consumer walking through the supermarket aisle.

Another arresting evidence is that steel is an environmentally beneficial resource by two measures: the conservation of resources that are depleting rapidly and prevention of pollution caused by by-products during the process of manufacturing new steel. Could there be a more optimal resource making least impact on the environment?

Steel is almost 100% recyclable and 86% of the commercial steel products are in fact recycled. Thereby food cans and jar lids frequenting the supermarket have indeed been recycled previous to reaching its shelves, earning the privilege to be called ‘friendly’ as in eco-friendly. Yes, this even includes the beer bottle caps and outdoor grills in that barbecue party scene.

Upcycling, Discarded Steel Reborn a Notch Greener

Are metal scraps only valid for use if they are re-manufactured through recycling? Recent trend reveals brand new transformations of existing products without undergoing the industrial hassle of melting and remolding in quite novel and exciting ways. The environmental effect of upcycling stretches beyond recycling as it leaves out carbon footprint altogether. And then adding elements to its original form serving either a practical or an artistic purpose increases its value significantly. 

Human sculptures made from welding thousands of used bicycle chains (Source: inhabitat)

After returning from vacation destinations, people may spend the remaining time taking care of daily chores and some shopping before busy life creeps back in. Shoppers are increasingly spending their earnings in ways that affect the environment. These contributions are the foundation for societies, institutions, and businesses alike to raise awareness of environmental issues.

A noticeable instance of such a business is a company that tackles an environmental waste issue through creating unique furniture from used steel-made oil barrels. Instead of leaving unwanted traces of waste to the environment or using extra energy to recycle, the company imbues new purpose and meaning to the barrels by designing and adding color from its original shape.

Empty oil barrels upcycled into uniquely designed furniture (Source: upcycleDZINE)

With such innovative twist, steel can be reborn without being melted and remolded. The artists who foresee the hidden functionality of old or broken steel products play a significant role in bringing forth such changes in consumer culture. An inventive idea and willingness can open doors to businesses and promote an eco-friendly economy.

Nothing Beats a Staycation

Yet there are those who would rather be cooped up at home than travel to faraway destinations. Especially if the region suffers from extreme heatwave. Steel can alleviate such pressure to always travel far out by transforming a home into a vacation spot itself.

Wood was commonly used as construction material for houses in the past. However, it was heavily influenced by its environment, easily worn out and decayed causing owners to undergo frequent maintenance. This was certainly not ideal in terms of convenience and economy.

But the advent of steel changed everything. As steel does not absorb moisture, many construction and maintenance difficulties were resolved. Its excellent durability implied safe and ideal living conditions without the squabble over constant house repairs. In the construction process, steel is easily manufactured to use as material, reducing construction time, labor costs, and noise pollution on site.

In particular, POSCO has been carrying forth its renown ‘Steel Village’ project. Its highly durable steel used as construction material was developed a while back to withstand catastrophic natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and typhoons– thanks to the application of its high-tech steel technology “PosMAC”. The Steel Village, also acknowledged as one of POSCO’s social contribution activity, has already successfully constructed homes in poor residential areas of Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand.

In overall cases steel is effective for home insulation, thus reducing costs for the usage of heating and cooling system. To such a degree, steel is valuable not only in terms of safety but also for the economy.

Steel has permeated our everyday lives from the mundane to the eventful. These indications reveal that its reason is by the virtue of steel’s eco-friendly nature. Or else steel would not be prevalent in the houses we sleep in, the arts we admire, or the grocery stores we frequent. Further analytical description of steel’s eco-friendly nature can be found below:

Thanks to its strong tensile properties, steel is a very practical material, as it can be reused again and again, from one product to the next, while consistently maintaining its inherent qualities. In fact, according to the most recent data compiled by the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI), approximately 80% of steel used today has been previously recycled.

Eco-friendly and Economical Benefits

But durability isn’t the only thing that makes recycling steel so valuable. It’s eco-friendly and cost efficient, too. So much so that it takes 74% less energy to recycle steel than it does to make it from raw materials – enough to power almost a sixth of America’s homes for a year!

It’s also cheaper to reprocess steel than to mine iron ore, or to create new steel, which is an added bonus in today’s budget-conscious society.

How It Works

Typically, when a manufacturing product is no longer considered valuable to its owner, or the metal of a structure meets the end stages of its life, its steel components are picked apart as scraps. The scraps are then melted in high-temperature furnaces, which in turn liquefies the steel and burns off any remaining impurities. Once pure, the liquid metal is molded into new products, such as tools or engines.

Recently, however, some very clever minds have taken the way we use recycled steel to a whole new level.

Subway Cars Turned Underwater Reefs

Along the eastern seaboard, retired New York subway cars have found a new home on the floors of the ocean. And while it may seem that dumping these mammoth vehicles into the sea would be anything but helpful to the ecosystem, the trains that once transported New Yorkers across the Big Apple are transforming into habitats of millions of fish.

The project, which aimed to help the environment, was launched about 10 years ago by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

After being decommissioned, cleaned and stripped of all removable items, some 25,000 cars were transported by barges and dumped off the coast. Although the campaign is no longer in operation, the cars have since been transformed into artificial reefs.

These unlikely habitats continue to provide plenty of space for invertebrates to live, and act as a hideaway for fish seeking protection from predators. The reef also functions as a source of food, offering more viable conditions than the sand bottom for the growth of various nutrients and organisms.

Old Bridge Gets New Life

While the steel which was once used on land is now being repurposed in water on the East Coast, the reverse is happening on the opposite end of the country.

After 77 years of linking San Francisco to Oakland, California’s Bay Bridge remains to be an icon of the region. Its structure, however, was deemed “earthquake unsafe” after a 1989 quake destroyed part of it. In 2013, its replacement opened to traffic and plans to deconstruct the defective bridge were set.

When scraps of the 58,000-ton steel structure were sold and distributed around the country and abroad after its first of three deconstruction phases, members of the community spoke up, demanding that parts be set aside to be reused in the area.

The Oakland Museum, in coordination with the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA), began to accept proposals for how the steel should be refurbished. Thus far, proposals have included everything from bus stops to rainwater catchment systems to sculptures that will retain the visual essence of the original bridge.

In a time when recycling is more important than ever, reprocessed steel is being reincarnated into structures of both function and form. Whether it be through urban sculptures or underwater habitats, recycled steel will continue to transform the way we see, use and better the world.

“Grab me a cold one.”

We often say as we walk into a bar or a kitchen. And, there is no doubt that ice-cold beer is the best quencher in any occasion. Speaking of cold beer, when we think about drinks in various types of containers, the beverages in cans seem to chill faster and deliver a fresher taste. Especially, steel cans are durable and convenient yet prevalent in everyday living. What makes steel packaging so great? Even a superhero, Man of Steel, is named after this material. Let’s discover more about it from now.

Advantages of Steel Packaging

• Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. From eco-bags to reusable batteries, consumers and brand owners are becoming increasingly aware of issues such as recycling rates. Among the plethora of sustainable materials, steel embodies a special meaning since it is 100% recyclable. Moreover, steel packaging for food can be endlessly recycled without losing any of its quality. Especially due to its magnetic properties, steel can be sorted out easily by a magnetic classifier. This advantage contributes to its easy and low-cost recycling process, encouraging more reuses of steel. In fact, more than 50% of global steel production is generated from steel scrap.
  Canned products don’t require the energy of refrigeration during storage. In addition, as steel packaging technology advances, the steel packaging is getting stronger and lighter while requiring less material in production process. The lighter weight of the packaging allows more product to be shipped using less fuel – meaning less money and better environment. Steel packaging’s unlimited reusability and adaptability are worth to compare with the Man of Steel, the human race’s eternal superhero.

• Designer’s Paradise When you walk in to a giant grocery store or a convenient store anywhere in city areas, a vibrant collection of diverse soda cans is a hard thing to miss. The flexile and easily applicable quality of steel allows steel cans to adopt millions of trendy and interesting designs, which appeal strongly to the consumers. Steel cans can be applied with tactile finishes of distinctive quality, leading designers and brand owners to benefit from the material’s outstanding characteristics. From embossing, matte finishes, leather-like coatings and lacquering, the array of innovative decorations is not bound to a limit. Splendid colors of steel packaging surely let the beverage cans to stand out on a crowded shelf at the store.
  Some of the large global companies are collaborating with designers or brands to create an extraordinary steel packaging that bestows a premium value and a unique aesthetic quality. Moreover, despite the economical impression of tins, many manufacturers are using steel packaging for high-end cosmetic products or luxurious candles as an innovative means of powerful consumer appeal.

• Safety First
  In every scene of summer vacation at the beach or by the pool, the existence of soda cans and food cans doesn’t seem so surprising. It is almost natural to hold a drink can at sporting events and concerts whereas beer bottles or any other glass container are often prohibited due to safety reasons. Cans, especially steel cans, are safe because they don’t shatter.Steel can’s durability is only one of many safety benefits of the material. Canned fruits and vegetables are sealed in steel cans within a short time after harvesting. And during the canning process, micro-organisms that could affect the food quality are eliminated by heating the sealed steel container. After all these packing procedures, the food inside stays its freshness for a long period as its steel packaging provides perfect protection against oxygen, light, moisture and other contaminants.

More about Steel Cans, Steel Packaging Council
Among millions of councils in the world, there is a special council for steel packaging as well. The steel packaging promotes steel as a choice of material for a variety of products by expanding the viability of steel packaged products with consumers and brand owners. According to the information from the Canned Food Alliance (CFA), the Steel Packaging Council is a founding member of the CFA. As the alliance consists of steel makers, food processors and affiliate members of the industry, the Steel Packaging Council fosters steel-based solutions to develop existing markets to a great extent. American Iron and Steel Institute specifies that investors of the council are USS-POSCO Industries, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, United States Steel Corporation, Severstal North America and more. These investor companies provide materials that are used to make steel food cans that embellish our daily lifestyles. In this respect, POSCO is currently producing and supplying black plate which is a prior material of tin plate, the key material of steel can production.

While providing such safety and convenience to people around the world, steel packaging are preserving resources for future generation to live in a better world. This amazing qualities that contribute to the human race, certainly seem similar to the Man of Steel who is all about the world peace without asking anything in return. With excellent recycling abilities, unique design qualities and the consumer-friendly features, it seems that steel packaging has the potential to surpass the value that Superman offers.

Check out the cool infographics below for more interesting stories!

• http://steelcan.com/
• http://www.smartcansolutions.com/pdfs/Steel_Food_Can_Facts.pdf