Why You Should Recycle Scrap Metal: 5 Environmental Benefits
Each of us can see the effects of global warming with our own eyes, that’s why most of us are no longer discussing whether we need to do something about it, but how to do it. Recycling is one of the easiest and most popular ways of helping the environment. It’s free, time-effective and can make a huge difference.
How can you recycle scrap metal?
When you think about recycling, the first thing that probably comes to your mind is plastic. Maybe glass and paper as well. But surprisingly, many people forget about metal. Think about it. How many metal products and devices do you have in your house? Yet, since you only replace such household appliances once in a while, maybe even every few years, it’s no wonder it can get confusing. If you’re wondering how you can throw them away, along with the rest of scrap metal you’ve accumulated over the years, don’t worry – the answer is very simple. You just need to find your local scrap yard. In case you’re unable to take your metal items to the designated place yourself, there’s a possibility of arranging a scrap metal pick up.
Why should you recycle scrap metal?
In this day and age, no one is going to argue with the fact that recycling is very important. However, it’s one thing to say you should recycle to protect the planet, but it’s much more important to be aware of what it is you’re saving it from. By finding the best methods of waste disposal, you can make a positive change. It concerns all types of materials, but especially metals. Metals can be recycled over and over again without losing their quality, which makes them very valuable. Recycling metal offers many financial and environmental benefits, as it’s an important factor in:
- Saving natural resources
The amount of metal we have access to is limited. With every day of mining, we reduce the resources we have left. Recycling metals can slow this process down, but we don’t recycle nearly enough to stop it. And since recycling uses a lot less energy than we need to mine and process the new materials, it would also allow us to conserve the resources needed to produce that energy.
2. Avoiding toxic leaks
Electronic waste can become a big problem if it’s not processed in the right way. For example, if your laptop ends up in a landfill, because it wasn’t disposed of properly, substances such as lead from the battery can start leaking into the soil. You may not think it’s much of a problem. After all, how much damage can one laptop make? But think about how many people have laptops and what would happen if all of them started leaking toxic substances into our water systems.
3. Lowering CO2 emissions
Mining, processing and transporting metals requires a lot of energy. And since this energy isn’t green, it results in huge amounts of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Even if this is not directly connected to mining, you have to count it in the environmental cost of the whole process. By recycling, we can limit the amount of energy needed and effectively reduce the level of CO2 emissions.
4. Saving natural habitats
There are very few processes as damaging to the environment as mining because creating a mine site is impossible without destroying the surrounding habitats. And we can’t forget about the risk of soil and water contamination that comes with the whole process. That’s why limiting the number of mines will be very beneficial.
5. Conserving energy
The more energy we use, the more CO2 is emitted during its production. Even though energy from renewable sources is getting more and more available, it’s still not enough. Recycling uses only a small percentage of the resources needed for mining, so it’s much more sustainable.
Most metals can be recycled indefinitely without any loss in their quality. This means it’s not only environmentally, but also financially, beneficial to reuse them time after time. Think about all the products containing metal in your house. Do you really need all of them? Maybe it’s time to give some of them a new life?
Author bio: Rachel Connolly is a young wife of a wonderful husband and a mother of two great daughters. She is deeply interested in green living and recycling. Rachel believes that we should take care of our planet before it will be too late.
12 Comments
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Tara
Hi Thomas! First of all, my condolences on your grandpa. Second of all, I agree, it’s always a good idea to recycle whatever we can.
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Zoe Campos
I’m one of those people who are very much aware of the bad effects of global warming. This makes me realize that we should reduce the amount of waste we produce each year and practice recycling at all times. Maybe we can start with batteries and scrap metal in order to achieve the huge difference you mentioned.
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Gisela
You mention a great point about metal regarding the ability to recycle it over and over without loss of quality. The same is also true with glass. It would be nice to see people switching out the single use plastic items for ones made of glass or metal. Plastic is one of the more difficult items to recycle and too often is tossed into the trash. Replacing some of those plastic items with reusable glass/metal is an easy way to help out. Water bottles, food containers, and even straws can be made with glass and sometimes metal.
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Charlotte Fleet
It is great to know that recycling scrap metal helps to conserve energy. My husband has a lot of scrap metal in our garage. I’ll suggest that he find a reliable scrap metal recycling service.
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Claire Masters
As I know, big companies these days are required to recycle their scrap metals. It does take a lot of work but it’s really necessary since it was also mentioned here that it saves energy since mining costs for these raw materials would be significantly reduced. It would also be helpful to get in touch with third-party services so that recycling these materials can be more accessible.
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Vivian Black
It is great to know, as you said that most metals can be recycled many, many times without losing any of their quality. I did not know this. I love how you pointed out that it can be both environmentally safe and financially beneficial to take advantage of scrap metal recycling. This is the motivation for our company to take advantage of scrap metal recycling companies. We have a lot of metals that we have been throwing out which we will now take to a place for recycling. This is a great article.
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Victoria Addington
It made sense when you shared that recycling metals can avoid the scarcity of resources. This made me realize the importance of scrap recycling services in saving our natural resources. I think businesses should partner with them to ensure an eco-friendly initiative.
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Yennora Copper Recycling
As I probably am aware, large organizations these days are expected to reuse their salvaged materials. It takes a great deal of work however it’s truly important since it was additionally referenced here that it saves energy since digging costs for these natural substances would be fundamentally decreased. It would likewise be useful to reach out to outsider administrations so that reusing these materials can be more open.
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Dianne Miller
I found it interesting that you discuss metal recycling. I agree that common recyclable materials known are plastics and papers. Thanks for the helpful information when you mentioned that Metals could be recycled over and over again without losing their quality, which makes them very valuable. Recycling metal offers many financial and environmental benefits, as it’s an essential factor.
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Eli Bradley
It’s amazing that you point out that recycling scrap metal helps reduce damage to the environment. Taking care of the environment is very important to me, so I’d like to recycle all of the copper wire that is in my garage this week. I’m going to search for a good provider of scrap metal recycling services in my area to use.
Thomas Peterson
You made a great point that you can save natural resources by recycling scrap metal. I’ve been sitting on some scrap metal in my yard that hasn’t seen much use since my grandpa passed away three months ago. Maybe I should take it into a plant and see about recycling it.