At some locations, you can even stay in your car while a scale operator unloads and weighs your material. Curbside and public recycling services typically only take common household metal items like cans, and not the full range of recyclable metals. Scrap yards use a number of different means to sort and separate metal, including visual identification, spectrometers, magnets, and electrical currents.
Scrappers can get more money for their metal if they do some of this work ahead of time and dismantle things that are made of mixed materials — for example, a metal bike with rubber tires and handles. To make the melting process more efficient, metals have to be cut down to specific sizes and shapes. Scrap metal is made to order; the scrap yard already knows what shapes, compositions, and weights of metals their customer needs.
Shredding, torching, and baling are all examples of ways that scrap metal can be prepared, depending on its final use. Once the metal is sized and processed, it leaves the scrap yard and goes on to the next customer in the chain: the mills, foundries, and smelters that use scrap to make new metal. Melting metals makes the impurities rise to the top where they can be separated from the remaining metal. Some metals go through additional refinement through processes like electrolysis to yield something as close as possible to primary, or new, metal.
The alternative source for making metal is metal ore that is mined out of the ground, referred to as virgin metal. The two can be used together — scrap metal, once purified, retains all the same properties as its parent metals. Using scrap helps save energy and costs compared to virgin metal.
Once cleared of contaminants, molten metal is transformed as it solidifies. There are a number of different forms it might take, and plants are specialized in what types they create. Examples include bars, wire, coil, and sheets. Sometimes, chemicals are added to the metal to make it denser or change its properties.
Usually, the foundry or mill is not the end user of the new metal. It goes on to other sectors of the manufacturing stream, like automakers, robotics, aerospace, public works projects, and a vast array of consumer goods. The reasons to recycle scrap metal are plenty. Individual sellers, manufacturers, and the planet we call home all reap the many rewards. Here are several of the greatest benefits of scrap metal recycling:. To learn about the general industry trends, you can use third-party apps and websites that aggregate the average prices by geography, but keep in mind these will be averages and not guaranteed.
In a landfill, many metals can take a long time to break down into elements small enough to return to the earth — hundreds, if not thousands, of years, doing nothing but taking up space.
Some metals like lead and mercury are hazardous and will leach into the surrounding soil and water over time, and should be disposed of safely instead. This is where your household council recycling boxes come in handy — did you know that if all the cans in the UK were recycled, we would need 14 million fewer bins? The best metals to consider recycling are brass, copper and aluminium, although a scrap yard will recycle any metal in the correct way, saving you time and being economically friendlier.
Many people are unaware that many metals have some value and can earn you some return. While the prices of ferrous and non-ferrous metals for scrapping and recycling do fluctuate, you can use average price guides to see a good indication of the market value. Metal prices do differ and once you have your materials separated, it may be your next step to get in touch with your nearest scrap metal recycling merchant for more information.
Some of the most valuable non-ferrous metals to take to your local metal recycler include Copper, Brass and Silver. Your old vehicle will most likely contain plenty of non-ferrous metals such as steel! You may still get a small financial return on these, as well as helping the environment and the economy. At Morecambe Metals, we are the experts in processing and recycling all metals, whether ferrous or non-ferrous. Talk to us: Exact matches only.
Search in title. Search in content. Search in excerpt. Bay Gateway. Car Recycling. Recycling a ton of steel conserves 2, lbs of iron ore, 1, lbs of coal, and lbs of limestone says the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Not to mention it saves enough electricity to power 18 million households for a year. On the other hand, recovering a ton of aluminum cans saves 21, kilowatt hours. While not as massive as the mining industry, recycling scrap metal is a potent booster for the economy. We are yet to recycle enough.
If we can bump up the recovery rates for different metals, the economic advantages will also grow. And the financial incentives afforded by metal recycling can extend to you, too. If you are, the following infographic will give you a quick tour. Large businesses with in-house programs and scrap yards often employ 3rd party technical services to get their towering pile of waste in order. They either send their scrap metal to the service provider or get a technician to their site to conduct PMI tests.
These tests use tailored identification methods to sort different types of scrap fast. On the other hand, business with the right knowledge and expertise may get their own machines like metal analyzers to sort their scrap metal. The Recycling plants will handle the harder parts of the process, including radiation detection, searing, and shredding. But you can help your local community recover more reusable materials by collecting scrap metal.
You will need this tool to distinguish ferrous from nonferrous metals. Here are rules of thumb to keep in mind:. So be sure to bring a handheld magnet before heading out. You want to have a container for every type of metal you collect. If you mix them together, the scrap yard will either tell you to separate the metals and come back or pay you based on the the least valuable metal in the bunch. If you have aluminum and copper in a single container, a scrap yard will likely pay you based on the price per pound of aluminum.
Otherwise, you will have difficulty estimating the value of your pile. For new scrappers, the following list of pointers will help. Scrappers can get by with appearances. If you want to learn more about other techniques and their pros and cons, our post about the most common metal identification methods will give you an introduction.
But the table below will give you a better idea of which metals give the best return on your effort. These figures change daily and can differ depending on a number of factors, including location, market trends, and meta; grade.
If you want to get real-time prices, check out the Scrap Register and Scrap Monster. Safety is a primary concern wherever you work, but even more so when collecting scrap for recycling. You will have to lift heavy stuff and handle sharp objects and edges. Not to mention you need to keep watch of those around you and be careful not to injure bystanders or damage properties. Save that for the beach. Instead, wear puncture-resistant long-sleeves and pants to minimize the risk of cutting yourself.
Throw in a pair of quality work boots for good measure. You want ones that are comfortable and have alloy safety toes for lightweight protection against heavy debris.
0コメント