Recycling: A Beginners Guide

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The Environmental Benefits of Metal Recycling

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From cars to buildings to consumer products like bakeware, electronics and household appliances, metal products and structures are ubiquitous. Now imagine where all end-of-life metal products and structures would go if metal recycling facilities didn't exist. 

The truth is, metal recyclers seldom get the recognition and appreciation they deserve, but they play an integral role in keeping the planet healthy. Whether you're a producer or consumer of metal products, you should care about the work that metal recycling services do because it has real benefits for the planet.

Keep reading to discover how metal recycling helps protect the planet.

Metal recycling extends the lifespan of the existing stock of metal.

Unlike other types of materials that don't have any economic value left in them once they reach the end of their expected lifespan, metal items can be recycled over and over again without losing their initial qualities.

Metal recyclers take advantage of this quality by breathing new life into materials that would otherwise be considered as worthless.

Metal recycling diverts some materials away from landfills.

Every year, several tonnes of scrap metal from end-of-life products or structures get produced locally. Without metal recycling facilities, all these materials will end up at local landfill sites together with the rest of the non-recyclable solid waste materials. As the waste stream grows, so does the pressure on the landfills.

Scrap recycling diverts a significant volume of waste away from existing landfill sites. This helps preserve landfill space, which seems to be running out fast. Metal recycling also helps avoid potentially harmful permanent containment of heavy metals at landfills.

Metal recycling reduces the demand for virgin metals.

By making recycled metal available for use as a raw material in the manufacture of new metal products and structures, scrap recycling reduces the need to extract new raw materials (virgin metal ores) from the ground.

This means there's less need for mining and new metal manufacturing operations, which are more energy-intensive than making products from recycled metal and could also end up releasing climate-changing carbon emissions into the surrounding environment and destroying natural habitats.

While everyone else is preoccupied with producing and consuming metal products, metal recyclers have taken it upon themselves to mitigate the impact of scrap metal on the environment. If you have scrap metal you need to get rid of, be it from an end-of-life product or manufacturing activities, take it to a metal recycler near you to ensure it's disposed of the right way.


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