Key Reasons Aluminium is the Poster Child for Scrap Metal Recycling
Scrap metal recycling could not be more critical today, given the number of consumer products made from the material. From mobile phones to beverage cans, metallic consumer products run the gamut. Notably, aluminium metal is considered the poster child of the world's scrap metal recycling industry. Why? Read on to find out.
Most Abundant Naturally Occurring Metal -- Aluminium is one of the most abundant metals found naturally in the earth's crust. Thus, it would make sense if companies made their products from new aluminium. After all, there is enough in the earth's crust to meet global manufacturers' needs, right? Indeed, the earth's crust has enough naturally occurring aluminium ore to meet current and future manufacturing needs. However, aluminium is still the most recycled metal globally primarily because it is an infinitely recyclable material. Therefore, all stakeholders stand to benefit if one of the most abundant naturally occurring metals can be infinitely recycled. Most importantly, if the most abundantly occurring metal can be infinitely recycled, other metal types can also be reused.
Used All Over the World -- From beverage cans to kitchenware, aluminium products are used worldwide, meaning homes, junkyards, and manufacturing plants are brimming with a constant supply of aluminium waste. If all the waste ends up in landfills, the metal's carbon footprint will significantly increase. Thus, metal recyclers rely on the continuous supply of recyclable aluminium to continue churning new consumer products. It means that although aluminium is one of the most used metals worldwide, very little of it ends up in landfills. The efforts set an excellent example of how scrap metal recycling should be approached regardless of how popular or unpopular a metal is.
Easy Recyclability -- Aluminium is light and malleable, two characteristics that make it one of the easiest metals to recycle. Notably, the speed with which recycling plants can recycle used aluminium plays an integral role in the supply chain, considering the metal's high demand. Therefore, if it took a long time to recycle used aluminium, manufacturers would understandably have to opt for new metal to make products. Fortunately, scrap aluminium takes a short time to recycle into usable metal; therefore, manufacturers do not have to source new aluminium to make consumer products. For example, a beverage can from a convenience store can be recycled back to the store in as little as six weeks. The turn-around time encourages stakeholders to explore recycling other metals. Look into scrap metal recycling near you for more information.