Whether or not you’re planning to start scrap recycling, or you just want to know more about how this process works, it’s a good idea to start with the basics. Many people who aren’t directly involved in the scrapping industry don’t know a whole lot about how recycling scrap metal helps the environment. Recycling, in general, is better for the environment because it requires less energy than generating new materials. Scrap recycling is even more beneficial because massive amounts of energy are used to mine, process, and transport metals while recycling metals takes much less energy to recycle. The less metal that needs to be processed and produced, the better.
The environment gets a bit of a break thanks to successful scrap metal recycling. Builders, manufacturers, and anyone else who uses scrap metal see no difference in the quality of recycled metals. What’s really cool about scrap metal is that it can be recycled multiple times with no loss in quality. Unfortunately, paper and plastic begin to lose quality after being recycled several times, but, it’s still important to recycle all of those materials whenever possible. There’s no reason not to recycle scrap metal when its quality remains excellent.
Perhaps the most impressive part of scrap metal recycling is the vast number of uses for recycled scrap metal. Some of the most common metals are steel and aluminum, both of which can be recycled easily and efficiently with no loss of integrity. Recycled scrap metal can be used to make almost anything, the same way that freshly refined metals are used in production every day. A piece of recycled scrap metal can go on to become a tin can, or the door of a car. The possibilities are truly endless for recycled scrap metal, which is why it’s in such high demand.
Another neat thing about scrap recycling is that there are ways to easily identify different types of metal so that they can be organized for reuse. For example, iron and steel are extremely heavy materials, but also very strong. This explains why steel is chosen for constructing high rise buildings, while a lightweight metal like aluminum is used for airplanes and helicopters. In a salvage yard, scrappers will use a magnet to identify different metals and alloys, which are combinations of different metals. Iron and iron-based metals are magnetic, while non-iron metals are not. There are subtle yet significant differences between metals that scrappers need to consider. Aluminum and steel may both be shiny, but only one of these metals is magnetic. Just carrying a magnet around in your pocket when you go to a salvage yard is enough to help you find what you’re looking for.
Are you ready to visit a salvage company in Clare, MI, for scrap recycling? Contact Fair Salvage Company today to learn more about scrap recycling and what it can do for you.
