Last post talked about steel as the most recyclable material in the world, making steel buildings environment-friendly. The steel industry has found that it is more economical to recycle steel than to produce new ones since recycling saves about 75% of its annual energy consumption. This amount is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of about eighteen million homes.

An added advantage of building with steel is that in the construction phase of steel buildings, there is very little waste produced because the steel components were fabricated to precise specifications based on the design. If there are any waste materials produced during construction and even in the demolition of the whole structure, they will not end up in a landfill because they can be recycled.

The online encyclopedia gives a detailed example of how environmentally friendly steel buildings are, with this statement: For a typical 2,000-square-foot two-story house using a steel frame is equivalent to about six recycled cars, while a comparable wooden frame house may require as many as 40-50 trees.

Another characteristic of steel buildings that make them environment-friendly is that they pose no danger of contaminating nature. Unlike wooden structures, steel frame members are not treated with toxic chemicals to protect the metal structures from termites, vermin, and rot.

These are more than enough reasons why steel buildings are popular these days. Choosing to build with steel rather than wood or any other construction material is equivalent to doing your share in saving the environment.