The Hidden Benefits of Recycling Household Metal
Have you been wondering if there's more you can do with your recycling efforts? Many people are all very much aware of the its importance and carefully fill their council-provided recycle bins with paper, plastics and bottles for collection. However, as far as metal recycling is concerned, people may be less effective.
Here's what you need to know about metal recycling and why it's so important.
The Benefits of Metal Recycling
The recycling of metal is good for everyone: consumers, manufacturers and the entire planet. Here are some of the benefits that may never have occurred to you.
Preventing Further Environmental and Visual Pollution
The huge and growing demand for metal in today's manufacturing industries leads to added mining activity. This mining of metal ores contributes to the destruction of previously pristine landscapes and demolishes the homes of local wildlife.
Additionally, the drainage wastes and acids from mining activity can contaminate ground water and aquatic systems.
Conserving Resources
Unfortunately, the natural resources of the planet are limited. Conservation of valuable metal assets is imperative. Recycling can reduce the need for mining and at the same time ensure the supply of the growing need for metal.
Saving Energy
The recycling of scrap metal drastically reduces the huge energy consumption required when extracting metal from newly mined ore. For example, the amount of energy saved in recycling aluminium compared with smelting from the raw ore is a massive 92 percent.
Reducing Landfill
Dumping metal is a total waste, and household recyclables that are wrongly placed in the general rubbish bin go straight to landfill. This means they are lost to the vital recycling process. Items such as pet food cans, soup cans and fish cans are needlessly going to landfill on a daily basis. This is where householders can make sure they do their bit.
Simple and Practical Metal Recycling
Aluminium scrap is an excellent candidate for recycling. Also, it is probably the most common metal in the house.
Soft drink cans are the first to come to mind when thinking of aluminium, and recycling these is a great step, However, there are other items to be considered, such as aluminium foil, aerosol cans, baking trays and pie pans. Simply ensuring that none of these items go in the wrong bin is effortless and will contribute much more than you may have previously considered.
Aluminium is also a sought-after metal in scrap metal yards. As a result of this, an easy way to make a little extra cash is by collecting some of your aluminium items to sell. Almost every household has some unwanted and forgotten appliances that are no longer usable in the garage, shed or backyard. Take a look at some of your old junk in a new way.
You could also collect some scrap metal from friends and neighbours as well to boost your supply and receive more cash at the scrap yard. Products such as window frames, microwaves, tubing, electronics and some automotive parts are good examples of what you can look out for.
Just think, those old, broken and bent items can be repurposed and once more play their role as useful products. Aluminium can be recycled over and over again, as it does not degrade during the recycling process. In fact, around two thirds of the aluminium in use today has been previously used.
As you now have an idea of the huge benefits for the environment, you may probably feel a little more motivated towards metal recycling. Even if you simply recycle your drink cans, you can feel that you are making a small contribution.