Fun Facts about Scrap Metal Recycling

Collecting scrap metal so you can resell it is a bit harder than it is to simply dunking metal objects into the trash. In many cases, you will need to strip objects apart in order to extract the metal from other materials. This can take a bit of time and many consider scrap metal recycling too difficult or too time-consuming. 

Metal is however a precious resource and the importance of repurposing used metal can never be over-emphasized.

In this guide, we are going to take a look at a couple of fun facts about scrap metal recycling.

Recycling Metal Uses Less Energy

The main reason so many manufacturing companies choose to manufacture new goods from used metal is because it saves energy. And energy = money. It basically is a lot cheaper to recycle old metal than it is to harvest new metal from natural resources. Recycling aluminium, for example, only uses 5% of the energy that was originally used to harvest and manufacture this metal. It is said that recycling one single aluminium soda can saves enough energy to power a light bulb for 20 hours or run a computer for 3 hours. This is a huge cost-saving factor to consider. 

Recycling Metal Is Quick

The recycling industry has become quite advanced. With modern technology, huge heaps of metal can be crushed down into smaller blocks, smelted, and manufactured into new objects. It takes just about 2 months to recycle old metal and manufacture a brand-new aluminium soda can.

Recycling Metal Reduces Pollution

Manufacturing metal from natural resources causes a lot more air and water pollution compared to recycling. By recycling steel, up to 86% less air pollution is caused and 76% less water is polluted. Recycling also keeps metal out of landfills where it can cause other forms of pollution. This is very important since aluminium cans can take up to 500 years to fully decompose. 

You Can Earn a Very Good Income from Collecting Metal

Collecting old metal may seem like a lot of hard work but it is quite rewarding. The scrap metal prices vary quite a lot from time to time but are pretty steady in general. When you sell scrap metal, you are paid a certain value for each kilogram you collected.  For some metals like copper, you can get as much as $8 per kilogram of waste metal. The price may depend on various factors like metal type, metal grade, metal quantity, and condition. 

All Metal Types Can Be Recycled

It is possible to recycle just about any type of metal no matter how old or worn these metal items might be. The only metal that is an acceptation is iron. It can be difficult for recycling firms to fully recycle metal that is extremely rusted. If a metal object is extremely rusted, these metals can become weak and brittle to the point where they are no longer reusable. But in most cases, the rusted metal can still be reused and recycled. You probably won’t get as much money for rusted metal because metal is paid by weight and rusting significantly reduces the weight of metal.

Australia Has an Excellent Scrap Metal Recovery Rate

90% of scrap metal in Australia is successfully recycled. This means that Australia is one of the leading companies in terms of metal recycling. A good comparison is the U.S. which only recycles about 52% of its scrap metal.

The scrap metal recycling industry is indeed very interesting. If you want to learn more about scrap metal recycling or have some metal that you want to sell then you should give Danny Scrap Metal a call. With the help of this company, you can become part of the recycling industry and earn a very good side income.