A warship built with steel salvaged from the World Trade Center has arrived in New York City.

Here's a great Material Reuse/Recycling Story (especially when materials are unable to be Reused in their current condition):

The Navy assault ship USS New York, built in Louisiana with tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center, passes in front of the Empire State Building as it arrives in New York Harbor Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. The bow of the $1 billion ship, built in Louisiana, contains about 7.5 tons of trade center steel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

From BBC News: The USS New York sailed up the Hudson River to near Ground Zero, where it fired a 21-gun salute in tribute to those killed in the 2001 attacks. It was watched by relatives of 9/11 victims, along with members of the emergency services and the public. The US Navy is to hold an official commissioning ceremony for the new warship on Saturday. The New York set off on its maiden voyage from Louisiana, where it was built, nearly three weeks ago. The bow of the boat contains 7.5 tonnes of melted steel from the fallen buildings of the World Trade Center.

The ship's crest includes images of the Twin Towers and features the colours of the city departments that first responded to the terrorist attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died.

'A transformation'

People gathered by the waterfront to watch the ship's 21-gun salute honouring those who died in the 11 September attacks. The crew stood to attention along the deck as the guns were fired.

Among those watching was JoAnn Atlas, who lost her firefighter husband in the attacks. "We have to remember. It's a way to honour them," she told the Associated Press news agency. Rosaleen Tallon, whose firefighter brother was among those killed, said she was pleased that the steel from the towers had been reused in the ship. "It's a transformation of it from something really twisted and ugly," she told AP. "I'm proud that our military is using that steel."

About one in seven of the 361 sailors serving on the ship are from New York state, a higher percentage than would normally be the case, a Navy spokeswoman told AP. She said there had been many requests from Navy personnel to serve on the ship.

More than Just Wood: The Many Faces of Reclaimed Building Materials - F'09 Newsletter

Mention reclaimed materials and the image pops: salvaged wood beautifully repurposed as paneling or flooring. While reclaimed wood is indeed one of the most popular reused materials, the range of materials sought and available extends far beyond that.

“Reclaimed wood is a classic, and it’s an idea most people are familiar with,” said PlanetReuse operations manager Tim Bensman. “But we’re seeing a growing market for steel, doors, access flooring, granite and marble. Steel, especially, offers huge potential for reuse, and along with that a huge potential for cost savings as well as a greater ability to achieve additional LEED material reuse credits.” The LEED MR system awards credit for reuse of a variety of reclaimed materials. PlanetReuse works with the design team early enough in the process to allow a huge list of options for consideration.

Ryerson University in Toronto has been studying steel reuse for a number of years, surveying designers, demolition contractors, salvage yards and steel fabricators to better understand the steel lifecycle. A 2006 report determined that construction steel reuse resulted in the reduction of between 3,000 and 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, a number that could grow dramatically with increased awareness.

Steel recycling has always been popular, especially in Europe. The UK-based Steel Construction Institute estimates recycling rates at 85 percent or higher. But reuse of steel components—which as the purest form of recycling provides the highest benefit to the environment—demands a bit more quality control.

To create those standards, PlanetReuse is working with prominent structural engineers around the country to establish fundamental testing principles. The company is actively sourcing reclaimed steel from deconstruction contractors, delivering a message of profitability for quality steel components.

They’re also talking to design principals around the globe, both to in regards to available inventory and insight on how to incorporate reclaimed materials. In recent years, architects designing shorter-term buildings (like venues for the 2012 Olympics in London) have suggested demountable venues that can be partially or completely removed and reused elsewhere.

“We’ve really just scratched the surface when it comes to the diversity of reclaimed materials,” said Bensman. “The easier the process becomes the more you’ll see materials of all types available for incorporation into new building projects. Whether that’s tons of steel, a dozen doors or a small slab of granite, the key is communication between those who need it and those who have it.”

Steel Reuse - the best choice for any economy

“Buy American” or no “Buy American” clause, fabricating new steel is not the sustainable approach we should take when we build our new buildings and infrastructure. Stimulus package or no stimulus package, the embodied energy it takes to recycle and re-fabricate steel for buildings is staggering.

This 60 Minutes segment is great in its entirety (and touches on great points regarding free trade and how the clause will affect the American economy), but I wanted to key in on minutes 2:20-3:37. http://www.tv.com/video/Yb4r3ifCJsCU2G5hOGw3HJhWqH_u8dGD/101/22529/buy-american?o=cbs&category=episode_clip&tag=showspace;video;3

The video shows the amount of energy that is necessary to create new steel from scrap steel. Recycling is often times seen as great for the environment and “saving the world”. Seeing this process (and the “fireworks” needed to create new steel) is amazing and may change your mind! Comments like “jolt from electrodes…you will see fireworks in a minute…” are heard through the footage showing the massive amount of energy injected into the process to create the steel.

Reuse (no, not recycling) of structural steel is the best way to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and is a way to create green color jobs doing deconstruction in lieu of demolition to allow steel to be reused.

Other blogs are doing a great job of noting the salary of the CEO and other great issues business classes will study for years to come. I believe it is equally, if not more important, to think about the sustainable ideals we should follow as we construct buildings for generations to come, regardless of what country we live in.

Another steel vid showing the amount of energy it takes to refabricate it.