As Green as Green can BE

Green energy, green products and green living have undoubtedly been the buzz words of
the last few years. However these terms have people wondering what green really means.
Does it mean savings for both yourself and the environment? Is a green product really
better than its non-green counterpart? Does green really make sense in this situation?

When it comes to aluminum, which UltraFence.com semi-custom driveway gates are all
made from, the answer to all those questions is a resounding YES! 

First, is the best part: the savings. Aluminum is a much less
expensive option than steel, but why it is less expensive is
what also makes it green. Aluminum is one of those few
cutting edge materials referred to as C2C (cradle-to-cradle);
this means at the end of its life as one product it is born again
as another product. Aluminum can be recycled over and over
without degrading or losing any of its innate characteristics.

Virtually 100% of the internal scrap of our aluminum
producers is reprocessed and converted into a usable raw
material source for the extruded aluminum used in our gates.
No waste is a key for cost control and environmental
protection; and at the same time we are saving energy doing
so.





*Recycled aluminum takes only 5% of the energy necessary to produce virgin aluminum. 

Aluminum, a green product, is a better choice than steel because of its long life, structural
strength and corrosion resistance. These factors are making aluminum the preferred
material choice of forward-thinking designers, engineers, material specifiers and other
throughout the world. One key factor that makes aluminum an environmentally better
choice than steel is the fact that steel has to be galvanized in order to withstand outdoor
conditions - 

aluminum does not get galvanized like steel does. 

The galvanization process has been linked world wide to
environmental hazards. Although controls have been put in
place in most modernized countries to curb this effect,
those controls cost money to the supplier - so if you find a
low priced steel gate most likely it is galvanized
somewhere the controls are not implemented because low
price of galvanized steel and environmentally responsible
galvanization of steel are generally opposites. One of the
main issues with galvanization is the waste water run off.
During the galvanizing process, steel undergoes a pickling
process. The pickling process involves immersing product
material through a series of tanks to clean and prepare the material
prior to immersion in a molten zinc bath. Two major sources of
waste water are generated from the galvanizing process: waste acid
and acidic rinse water. Waste acid is generated as a result of a
build up of iron and other impurities in the acid which greatly
reduces its effectiveness for pickling. The acid must be disposed of
properly which takes up landfill space - if it is not disposed of
properly it causes environmental damage. Acid rinse waters from
the galvanizing process are acidic and contain low metals. This
water is in the same situation as the acid - even if disposed of to a
treatment plant still produces a sludge that has to be deposited in
landfills. Lastly, zinc is used in the galvanization process.
Zinc processing produces air emissions and solid waste emissions.
The emissions include particulates, zinc fumes,
volatile metals, flux fumes and smoke, rubber, plastics and zinc scrap. 


For your future driveway gate - green really does make sense, for both
you and the environment: 

• Our aluminum suppliers comply with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System created by the U.S. Green
Building Council. This is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for
developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. 

• Aluminum is one of earth's most plentiful recyclables: saving money, energy, and
landfill space. 

• The future value of having an aluminum gate vs. steel gate has yet to be seen in its
totality. The U.S. Green Building Council, citing McGraw-Hill Construction's
Green Outlook 2009 report predicts that by 2013 the overall green building
market could more than double. Using green products in your current home
additions will reflect on the future green value of your home as it increases in
importance for sustainability.

• Aluminum makes a gate that will stand the test of time; it is trusted everywhere in
major building projects. In Chicago more than one million pounds of aluminum
were used in the construction of the 111 S. Wacker Drive building in Chicago's
Loop. This includes in the building's unitizing curtainwall system, façade,
structural components, and elevator cab framing.

Your source for American made aluminum driveway gates:
Ultra Aluminum Mfg., Inc: www.UltraFence.com, 1-800-656-4420

For Commercial or Industrial Gates consider :