How Many Types of Scrap are there?
Before you decide to throw out a useless metal item lying around at home, you must know the real worth of it in the scrap market. Metal Scrap business is becoming a thing very rapidly. Because who wouldn’t mind a sum of cash in exchange of a seemingly useless item.
But, before you go to market, you must have some essential knowledge of the metal type you are selling to avoid getting thugged. Being aware of the different types of scrap can really help you in dealing because the amount of money you get in exchange of a metal object depends on what type of metal it is.
Types of Metal Scrap:
You must be able to distinguish one type of metal from other if you are buying or selling scrap metals. So, keep reading the article in order to learn everything you need to know about the categorization of metal scrap and their worth in market.
However the first question that comes to mind is that, how many types of scrap are there?
Keeping it very simple, generally speaking, metal scrap is divided into two broad terms: Ferrous metals and Non-Ferrous metals.
Ferrous Metals:
Ferrous Metals are the iron based metals that are known for its strength. Thus, they are widely used in architectures, for industrial use and the production of basic hardware tools. And hence, Ferrous metals are created with high amount of Carbon, they are susceptible to rust and corrosion.
Thus, when you see a rusted metal item you can easily tell it is made of ferrous metal.
Characteristics:
However, there are many other identifiable characteristics that set apart ferrous metals from non-ferrous metals.
Since ferrous metals are made of Iron they are magnetic in nature. If you take a magnet close to a metal object and it sticks to the magnet in no minute it is a ferrous metal. This is the reason magnets stick to refrigerator because it is most likely to be made out of ferrous metal.
Examples of Ferrous Metal:
Furthermore, common example of ferrous metals include: Iron and Steel. Most of the kitchen items, appliances and utensils are made of these two ferrous metals. Microwave, dishwasher, oven, pots and pans, sinks and faucets, knives and other cooking tools all are most likely made of either iron or steel.
Pricing
However, unluckily, due to its susceptibility to rusting and corrosion ferrous metals are not as highly demanded as the non-ferrous metals whereas, the plus point of ferrous metal scrap is that, since they are made of iron such materials are heavier in weight. So you might get good money in exchange of a heavy microwave as compared to many lighter non-ferrous objects.
Nonetheless, you can still get a good money for a ferrous metal scrap if you take it to a place like Botany Scrap Metal Recycling where you can get the best price for your metal scrap.
Non-Ferrous Metals
On the other hand, Non-ferrous metals are the items that do not contain iron likewise, they are non- magnetic. Since there many further distinction of non-ferrous metals they are commonly found all around us almost in all electric and simple machines.
Characteristics
Non-ferrous metals have very identifiable characteristics.
As mentioned above, non-ferrous objects are lightweight. They have high resistance against rust and corrosion as compared to ferrous metals that is why you find non-ferrous metals used in the water pipes, cans and gutter lines.
Examples of Non-Ferrous Metals
There is a whole range of non-ferrous metals which include: Aluminum, Brass, Copper, Nickel, Tin, Lead, Zinc, precious metals like Gold and Silver. All of these metals can be easily found in your daily use.
Most of the things you use daily are made of Aluminum, Copper and Brass. For example, Aluminum is commonly used in the construction of soda cans due to its high resistance. The musical instruments, doorknobs and many cookware are made of brass. Copper is widely used in the making of wires and electronics since it is a great conductor of electricity.
In contrast, Gold and Silver are precious metals that are preferably used to make jewelry.
Pricing
As the non-ferrous metals are rare and takes much time and energy to mine, manufacturers prefer buying recycled objects instead of mining and producing altogether. Therefore, they are very much in demand and are sold much costly than the ferrous metal scrap.
In the End
With the rapid reduction in the natural resources recycling is the need of the time. Thus, in the wake of recycling, the metal scrap is highly in demand of the producers. So, instead of throwing away the metal items that are no longer in use at your home or factory, take your scrap to Botany Scrap Metal Recycling and get a money in exchange. However, it is necessary to at least know the basic classifications of scrap metal to make good deal for your metal items. You must be able to distinguish between the less expensive ferrous metal objects from costly non-ferrous metals like aluminum, copper or lead.