Did you know that almost all metals can be recycled?
The market for wire recycling in particular has grown substantially over the last few years. Recycling companies will purchase your old wires and send them off for refining or smelting so that the metals can be reused. Most electrical wires are composed primarily of copper, which is a 100% recyclable metal that has no limit to how many times it can be recycled. According to the Copper Development Association, copper is one of the most used and reused metals in modern society. This makes it all the more important to keep these vast amounts of copper from entering our landfills, where they pose serious environmental and economic risks.
Recycling electrical wires is easier than it has ever been before!
Benefits of Wire Recycling:
- Minimizes landfill presence
While some of the materials present in electrical wires cannot be recycled or reused, all of the metals within them can. This saves tremendous amounts of waste from entering landfills, where they not only take up space, but negatively affect the air, water, and soil in surrounding ecosystems.
- Minimizes the need for mining practices
The copper found in electrical wires comes from minerals such as bornite, azurite, malachite, and chalcopyrite, which are found through vigorous and harsh mining processes. Mining requires vast amounts of money, energy and fossil fuels, resulting in huge environmental and economic impacts. Wire recycling allows the metals – primarily copper – found in wires and cables to be reused, which significantly minimizes the reliance on mining processes.
- Minimizes energy use
From exploration to mining to extraction to treatment to conversion into desired products to transportation, an obscene amount of time and energy goes into metal production. By recycling electrical wire scrap and minimising the need for mining practices, we can significantly reduce the amount of energy that is used in these practices.
- Maximizes your cash return
One of the largest incentives for metal recycling is the cash return that most recycling facilities will offer. While you likely won’t make a fortune, the cash return is an added bonus to the environmental benefits of getting rid of something that you would otherwise throw away.
It’s clear that there are numerous benefits to recycling your old wires and cables. However, it’s important to opt for reputable recycling facilities such as Manville Recycling, who can guarantee that the metals you are providing will be processed and recycled properly.
With all of the benefits of wire and cable recycling, why not give us a call and see how you can help the environment today?