Recycling More and More

Posted on: 3 June 2022

When most people think of the word "recycling," they think about the bins of plastic you put out by your garbage can. But a full 91% of plastic isn't recycled. Instead, perhaps the most important aspect of recycling is metal—an industry that sees more than 130 million metric tons of metal turned into raw materials each year. If you're wondering why recycling metal is such an important thing to do, read on. Here's a look at three reasons metal recycling is valuable.

1. It saves energy. The process for recycling steel actually uses about 60% less energy than the process for making new steel, while the process for recycling aluminum uses a whopping 95% less. When you recycle, you're helping the environment. You're contributing to reduced gas emissions that would have been expended mining new metal and you're freeing up those energy resources for other things.

2.  You're helping the economy. Did you know that recycling metal actually helps create jobs? According to the National Institute of Health, incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates a single job, while landfilling the same amount of metal waste creates 6 jobs. Recycling the same amount of metal creates 36 jobs, an incredible increase. 

3. It's better for the earth. To mine new metal, a crew must dig deep into the earth to find raw materials. Of course, that's a finite resource. When you recycle metal, that means someone down the line will be able to use a material that already exists. You're even helping use less water when you recycle, as water is a huge part of mining new metal.

4. You make money. This is the reason most people are aware of, and the reason many people choose to recycle metal. The rates vary, but depending on the type of metal you're recycling, rates vary from about 10 cents a pound for appliances up to $1 per pound for brass. In fact, recycling scrap metal is an actual side job for some people who pick up discarded metal from customers. Why would you pay someone to dispose of it for you when you could actually get paid?

Whether it's aluminum, brass, steel, copper, or iron, there's absolutely no downside to recycling metal instead of simply discarding it. The next time you have excess metal you need to discard, consider recycling it instead. Not only are you helping the Earth and creating new jobs, but you're also putting a little money back into your own pocket

 For more information, contact a local scrap metal recycling company.