Website design By BotEap.comStainless steel – the Centennial Ecologist…

Website design By BotEap.comStainless steel is 100% recyclable. It is the ideal material for a multitude of applications. In fact, from the very beginning, every stainless steel product that leaves the factory already has its own story attached to it. ‘New’ stainless steel products typically contain around 60% recycled content. That stainless steel lab sink or backsplash may have had a former life as a water pipe or catering canopy.

Website design By BotEap.comAs its centenary year approaches, this highly recyclable material is proving more popular than ever, with increasing demand for consumer goods forged from this corrosion-free alloy. In fact, he is now one of the older kids on the block; since its discovery in Sheffield in 1913, humanity has discovered another 18 metals. Plus, there’s the little matter of the two world wars that have been fought, not to mention the advent of nuclear fission. While there are many superlatives that can be used to describe this high-quality metal – shiny, lustrous, durable, elegant, waterproof – “new” is not one of them. So why has this centuries-old metal found new life and is now used in everything from stainless steel countertops to stainless steel shower trays? Modern, minimalist homes are increasingly outfitted with stainless steel fixtures and fittings throughout. Stainless steel manufacturing is booming. When exactly did steel become so essential and so sexy? To answer that question, it is necessary to first consider the state of 21st century consumer culture.

Website design By BotEap.comOur throwaway society: where does stainless steel fit into…

Website design By BotEap.comWe live in a disposable society. Consumer goods that were traditionally meant to last for years are now designed to be used once and then thrown away. Disposable cell phones, thrown away when credit runs out. Disposable tents, £15 at your local supermarket. Take it to the music festival of your choice, throw it away, and leave it for someone else to clean up. Six-packs of socks, £2 from the discount fashion emporium. Use them once and then throw them away; What’s the point of doing laundry when you can just buy a new set?

Website design By BotEap.comNothing lasts forever, but nowadays it would seem that nothing lasts, period. The disposable nature of consumer goods seems to fit the mood of the times. Since the rise of the internet generation, attention span can now be measured in seconds instead of minutes or hours. There’s a reason YouTube videos have a 15-minute limit and Facebook updates have a 420-character limit. We like the world condensed into bite-sized chunks for our amusement; That way, as soon as we get bored, we can just move on to the next, and the next, leaving a trail of discarded phones, cars, and kitchen appliances in our wake.

Website design By BotEap.comAs convenient as the ‘here today, not tomorrow’ policy may be, it is not all that beneficial to the entity we affectionately refer to as Mother Earth. In recent years, the rise of environmentalism has made the plight of the planet a concern for everyone. Whether willingly involved or reluctantly cajoled, the environmental agenda cannot be avoided; it’s everywhere, from the recycling bins in the supermarket parking lot to the cashiers inside the store, making you feel guilty about giving up your plastic bag. Thus, paradoxically, at a time when half of humanity is littering more than ever, the other half is determined to recycle, reuse and reduce our carbon footprint. Is it possible to be a consumer without ceasing to be aware of the well-being of the planet? Is it possible to throw away our unwanted trash without feeling obligated to pay penance for our sins against the planet? Yes, is the short answer. But, and there’s always a but, it really depends on what happens to that debris when you’re done with it. The waste that ends up in a landfill is of no use to anyone; digging a hole and burying humanity’s trash will only obfuscate the problem as noxious gases are released into the atmosphere and heavy metals seep into the ground. As our planet’s precious resources are constantly dwindling, it is imperative that as much waste as possible be recycled. It is for this reason that stainless steel has suddenly found itself at the forefront of the environmental agenda.

Website design By BotEap.comStainless steel products tick all the recycling boxes…

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, recycling isn’t just a one-time process: it’s a never-ending cycle in which one man’s trash becomes another man’s treasure, until that man’s treasure finally vanishes and is then relegated to the spare bedroom. , and then into the attic, until one day it is taken to the proper recycling bin to be treasured for the next generation.

Website design By BotEap.comStainless steel may be fully recyclable, but the period between coming out of the electric arc furnace and being re-melted is likely to be decades. Given metal’s imperviousness to corrosion, it is generally recycled, not because of degradation, but because it is no longer required for its designed purpose. Tastes and trends change rapidly; One man’s modern stainless steel kitchen may be another man’s industrial hell. However, aesthetic interpretations aside, the future of this versatile material seems to be assured. As natural resources like oil become scarcer and less profitable, manufacturers will start looking for alternatives to plastics and PVC. Given the all-round versatility of steel, along with its environmental credentials, the future of manufacturing appears to depend on wrought 11% chromium alloy steel. From this heady mix this multifaceted metal is born.

Website design By BotEap.comFor consumers who require cheap disposable tents and disposable socks, metal isn’t much use. However, for most other applications (domestic and commercial) it can stand on its own, while ticking all the boxes: durable, easy to clean, aesthetically pleasing, and of course, environmentally friendly. Stainless steel doesn’t fare too bad for an inert metal that’s hitting 100.