The most recycled material in America is steel. After almost each use, steel can be reprocessed and used again in another form. Believe it or not, it takes approximately 6 vehicles to create the steel frame of the average sized home. There is almost no limit to the recycling that can be done to steel components.

Although recycling is done today in many steel mills by using an oxygen process, in the environment we live in today, with our modern technology, steel is melted electrically. This can be done several different ways. In most cases it is either recycled with an electric furnace, to create low carbon steel, or by using an induction furnace to create highly alloyed products.

Steel is so resilient that it is seldom affected by the climate. It can be used in very warm climates, as well as more frigid areas. It is everywhere you go, across bridges, through tunnels, in your car and in your home.

What is steel? Steel is primarily a mixture of iron and carbon. In actuality, it is the part of the mixture that controls the amount of carbon. Not only is steel stronger than iron alone, at can be used in many more instances. There are many other elements mixed with the steel to create other properties.

Steel is a major part of almost everything we interact with today; although aluminum is used in many items as well, primarily in automobiles.

.

Today, steel is being used, and becoming wildly popular in many areas of construction. In addition to the obvious steel used in standard screws, nuts and bolts, galvanized steel is often used to build the frame of many homes. By using steel for home construction, you not only have a strong foundation that will last a very long time, you are benefiting as well, by using in your home construction, a material that is known for being recycled.

Steel is a robust metal with a density of almost 500 pounds per cubic foot.

Steel can undergo a process called hot rolling. Hot rolled steel is heated to a temperature of proximately 1200 degrees Celsius. By undergoing such extreme heat, the steel becomes much stronger, thereby becoming much more durable without the risk of breaking or cracking.

Steel can undergo a process called cold rolling as well. The process of cold rolled creates a metal that is much more shiny than its hot rolled counterpart. In addition it can be rolled very thin and very smooth with a shiny finish.