A metal building offers a durable, economical solution for a wide variety of businesses. But besides being incomparably strong and versatile, steel buildings are more environmentally friendly than most people would imagine.

In this day and age, steel has become an even more valuable as a building material because of important environmental attributes such as its high recycled content and high reclamation rate.

With rapidly increasing environmental concerns dominating political debate across the nation and the world, a steel building offers an invaluable to companies seeking the most efficient and economical product.

Metal buildings, if you will, can carry their weight. The most recycled item in the world is metal, and in the U.S. alone, almost 76 million tons of steel were recycled in 2004 (the last year data is available).

This proves that steel building is the best of both worlds: an economically and an environmentally viable, mutually beneficial craft.

It's good for the planet, but also for the bottom line. Recycling used steel is less expensive than mining untapped ore and processing it into new steel.

As a result, a surprising two out of three pounds of steel produced today is produced from old steel. Unlike a commodity of which a finite amount exists, enough metal is recycled to sustain the industry long-term and moderate steel building prices to a large degree.

Strength, versatility, functionality. Recycled steel falls into each of the above categories, and is manufactured into a wide variety of invaluable products the world uses daily.

From a car to a kitchen appliance, to a bridge or a metal storage building, steel is one of the backbones of modern manufacturing - and recycling is one of the keys to its long-range effectiveness.

A steel building, in a sense, accomplishes a rare feat in manufacturing: It contributes to the growth of jobs and global industry, while also helping to preserve the environment. For this reason, it remains a reliable and infinitely suitable building option for America and beyond.