Sustainability and Reinforcing Steel

When most people think of steel production, a negative heavy industrial environment with many emissions and heat production is the first thing that comes to mind; even though this may be the case, it is not as negative as it may be perceived.  Reinforcing steel is considered one of the more “green” building materials. It can be produced from almost completely recycled material, which can be found in forms as scrap from old steel products. The finished product itself is also completely recyclable.

To find the true carbon footprint of reinforcing steel, a full life cycle analysis must be performed. This analysis takes into account where the raw material comes from, the processes which are involved in production, the transportation of the material to its destination, the impact it has during construction, its lifetime and demolition, and then the waste created when it is disposed of. Since most steel is recycled, it is virtually impossible to trace its origin and know where all the components used come from. However, this does mean that not very many raw materials are used during the production stage, which is a very important factor in determining the level of sustainability for a material. The transportation, procurement and lifetime of the reinforcing steel are comparable to most other building materials. However, during its demolition stage, reinforcing steel once prevails in that it is recyclable and the majority of it stays away from landfills. This is very important in that most life cycle analysis, which measure a carbon footprint, are concerned with the future impact of the waste created and how they will affect future generations.