Metals are one of the most used materials in our world today. From the construction industry to the automobile industry and even the food industry, metals find use everywhere and for essentially everywhere and various purposes. With so many metals in use however, there are bound to be so many scrap metals too. And while metals are great to have sound, scraps are not.
Scrap Metals and Their Effect on the Environment
Scrap metals constitute a nuisance. There’s no other way to say it. They are of little to no value to us the way they are, yet take up so much space.
Unlike dead plants or animal remains, they are not biodegradable so they wouldn’t go away over time. They thus lead to environmental pollution. With many metals containing some level of toxicity, the level of pollution could range between anything from causing an eye saw to the poisoning of water supply.
This is why finding a way of dealing with these scrap metals is of great importance.
Recycling Vs Reuse
There are two major ways of dealing with scrap metals ─ scrap metal recycling and scrap metal reuse. While these two might sound alike, there are major differences between them.
What is Scrap Metal Reuse?
Reusing scrap metal simply means using them once again without any treatment whatsoever. This is one of the most brilliant ways of reducing pollution and waste.
Some scrap steel or cans can be washed and used again for packaging food or for making simple appliances. Any metal item bought or used for another thing can be used to be considered as being reused.
What is Scrap Metal Recycling?
Scrap metal recycling on the other hand comprises of a series of treatments done on worn-out materials which turn them into raw materials making them useful for making an entirely different object.
Take for example turning scrap aluminium roofing sheets into rods for hanging curtains. Your beer cans also contain some percentage (if not 100%) of recycled metals.
While both methods of dealing with scrap metal help rid the environment from the annoying sight of them, one is usually preferred over the other and here is why.
- Reuse of scrap metal reduces pollution to the barest minimum. Energy and material costs are also minimized.
- Reuse is more environmentally friendly compared to recycling.
Why Recycle Your Scrap Metals?
Recycling your scrap metal is always the best option when it comes to making entirely new materials from scrap metals and here is why:
- The first and obvious reason is to preserve resources. Recycling saves you the stress of having to take out the trash every two days. For large companies, recycling their scrap metals help reduce the stress on natural resources thereby helping the environment altogether.
- Recycling scraps reduces the level of emission being released each year. Reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere reduces (if not stop) any further damage to the earth’s ozone layer.
- Did you know it takes way less energy to recycle than to use entirely new materials? Well, now you know. Calculations show that recycling of copper could save approximately 90% of energy being used in mining fresh copper. Same goes for aluminium and steel (92% and 56% respectively).
- Think about this, if governments around the world fully utilize recycling to its full potential, they tend to spend less on mining, and spend more on other areas of the economy that need development. This contributes to the development of that country’s economy.
- Since recycling costs less to process, you tend to save more cash as well as spend less buying canned foods and drinks.
- Since metal deposits around the world is declining, opting for recycling them is fast becoming a necessity in the modern world.
- You get to make extra cash on the side. Nothing’s sweeter than that. You don’t need the material yet you can make a few hundred bucks from them (even a thousand, who knows?)
How to go about Recycling Scrap Metals?
Have a load of junk in your scrapyard and don’t know how to go about recycling them, well, here are some tips on doing just that.
- Make sure your scrap metal is made of at least 50% metal. It may be surrounded by other materials like plastic or but it has to be made of metal as well.
- If you have some material with only a small amount of metal, you can try to separate them to accumulate more scrap metals for recycling.
- Always classify scraps as ferrous (containing iron) or nonferrous (others). You can make use of a magnet to differentiate. The ferrous ones stick while the non-ferrous one doesn’t.
- Contact a scrap metal recycler (could be an agent or a company) using the Earth911’s recycling directory. Check their webpage for their current payouts as well as the minimum amount of material you need to bring.
- Ensure you bring proper identification when coming to meet the recycler. This prevents people from stealing yours.
Do ensure you contact a trustworthy agent to make sure you don’t get scammed for making an honest trade.
