To Recycle or Not to Recycle?
Is it really even a question anymore? Climate change, a topic of great polarity, often finds people questioning whether they are doing enough to make a difference in the environment. Too often than not laziness is the victor in the scenario. Anyone can save a few plastic bottles and aluminum cans to have recycled. In fact, many local metal recycling stations will also accept scrap metal.
A few fun facts
Ten percent of the nation's electricity goes towards the creation of new aluminum cans. Over two billion aluminum cans, however, are recycled each year. Each recycled aluminum can converts enough energy to power a television for three hours. Now, imagine for a moment how much energy can be converted from recycling scrap metal with abundantly more surface space.
The basics
Scrap metal can consist of aluminum, iron, zinc, lead and copper bases. When recycled these materials are made into new usable building materials. Construction sites both local and international benefit from these goods. Once the scrap metal is retrieved from businesses, community programs and even local government agencies it sorted into two main categories; those containing iron (ferrous) and those without (non-ferrous). The former being the most sought after scrap metals. Examples of non-ferrous metals include, but are not limited to, nickel, aluminum, lead, copper and tin.
The process
Once the scrap metals have been sorted and grouped by worth they get sheared. Shearing is the process of cutting large pieces of scrap metal into small pieces. A heavy duty machine with industrial shears is known to cut through twenty tons of scrap metal in just an hour. Next up is baling. Baling process is centered on the small pieces of recycled scrap metal, which is gathered then compressed into a square block. Having the metal in this shape allows for easier transportation and storage. Lastly, the scrap metals is smelted or melted down to create brand new materials.
Benefits
Besides knowing that recycled scrap metals retain the same amount of strength as brand new metals, here are a few helpful benefits to it:
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Recycled steel saves over 120 pounds of limestone and close to 1,400 pounds of coal
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Rids the environment and landscape of unwanted metals such as run down cars
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Helps to sustain precious wildlife habitats
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Reduces bush-fires (scrap metals can spontaneously combust lending to fire)
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Protects soil integrity by reducing the amount of chemicals degrading in the sun
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