Recycling has become increasingly important in our society. You’ve probably heard of the three R’s of recycling (reduce, reuse, recycle) to include paper, plastic, cans, bottles and glass containers, but did you know that metals can be recycled as well? In fact, most people don’t know that scrap metal can be recycled for cash payments at local scrap facilities!
Why recycle metal?
Scrap metal recycling is a wonderful practice that encourages sustainability, economic growth, and environmental preservation. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by mining and refining virgin ore, lessening the amount of greenhouse gasses that are released into the atmosphere. In fact, almost every type of metal can be recycled repeatedly without any degradation to its properties.
Know your metals
Many scrappers simply recycle any metal that they find, not knowing that certain metals are more valuable. If you take the time to assess your metals and properly prepare them for the recycling process, you can earn a few hundred dollars extra each month just by recycling specific types of metal! Fortunately, these valuable metals are present in many products that we encounter on a day-to-day basis.
Check out this list of common metals that are very valuable to recycle:
Aluminum
Aluminum is a versatile metal that is commonly used for making beverage cans, car parts, tubing, electronics, window frames, siding, gutters,doors, and other manufacturing purposes. It is one of the most recycled (and most recyclable) materials on the market today. Recycled aluminum saves 80 percent of the energy that was used to make it originally. Although it is not worth a lot of money at the metal recycling centre, the global demand for aluminum makes it a very important metal to recycle.
Brass
Brass is a metal alloy made from copper and zinc. You can find it in hardware such as keys, door handles, plumbing, musical instruments, and bathroom fixtures. Since brass is a copper alloy, recycling this metal benefits the environment in the same ways copper does! Brass is typically a mid-level priced item; however, it can add up quickly in weight because of how dense it is. When you’re dropping off your brass, just make sure it is clean with no plastic, rubber, or steel in it, and we’ll take care of the rest!
Steel
A widely used metal, steel is one of the most recycled materials on the planet. Steel can be recycled continually with no degradation in performance, making it a critical part of a sustainable future. You can find steel in cars, furniture, shelves, air conditioners, pipes, household appliances and other manufactured goods. Furthermore, steel is one of the easiest materials to recycle due to its magnetic properties! Impurities can be easily separated from the metal with the use of a strong magnet.
Copper
Copper is a valuable metal that can fetch a good price at the scrapyard. Being one of the oldest continually used metals in the world, it is often found as an alloy in other metals as well. It continues to serve as a major industrial metal because of its high ductility, malleability, thermal and electric conductivity, and resistance to corrosion. As such, recycling copper is absolutely essential to preventing wastage. You can find copper in your household from wires, pipes, plumbing and various electronic components.
If you’re thinking of getting involved in scrap metal recycling, it can be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the different types of metals. By collecting highly coveted metals, you can get a bigger return for your time! For more information about the types of metals that we accept, visit this page or call us at 416-751-4732.