What is Metal Scrap?
With the decreasing amount of natural resources people are increasingly adopting the habit of recycling, be it on the domestic or industrial level. However, when it comes to recycling metals have proven to be the most essential product, due to its strength and durability. Metal can be recycled time and time being without any debasement to its properties.
Therefore, scrap metal recycling is a growing business sector due to its benefits at the both ends. It saves the time and energy of the miners to dig in virgin ores for the manufacturers. Similarly, it is also a source of earning commercial incentive for the sellers. Thus, read on to find out everything you need to know about scrap metal recycling.
What is Scrap Metal Recycling?
In simpler words, Scrap Metal includes every metallic waste or products made out of metal that is capable of being used again after processing. Worn and torn metal products are recovered and given new life in the process of scrap metal recycling.
Popular examples of scrap metal includes, vehicles, electric appliances, metal cookware, pipe lines, electric wires and anything else that is made up of any kind of metal.
These products are taken to a scrapyards like Botany Scrap Metal Recycling where they are sorted, processed and given a new life.
Types of Recyclable Metals:
Since the demand and price of these metal scrap depends on the type of metal in use, knowing the basic categorization of metals becomes essential in scrap business.
In broad terms, Scrap metal can be divided into two kinds: ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals. Both have their own positives and negatives based on different characteristics.
Such as, ferrous scrap metal includes things made of iron and steel. They are magnetic in nature and are mostly used for its strength, however, they have no less of drawbacks. Since these iron-based metals have an amount of carbon in it they are more susceptible to rust and corrosion. They can easily deteriorate on the touch of water or any such liquids.
Therefore, these ferrous metal objects are less valuable then its counterpart.
On the other hand, Non-ferrous metals like, Aluminum, Copper, Lead, Tin, Gold, Silver etc. are much valuable than ferrous metals.
Because, their ores are rare and precious that are hardly to mine and are much time consuming than the ferrous metals. Thus manufacturers prefer buying recycled aluminum, copper and gold rather than digging for more.
Characteristically, non-ferrous metals are lighter and have higher resistance to rust and corrosion. It makes these metals ideal for pipelines, gutter lines, soda cans and such stuff where metal is in direct contact with the metal.
How to Differentiate Between Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals?
Since, there’s a significant difference in the worth of the two types of metal scrap, it is essential to be able to distinguish one from the other. Although, there are several characteristics that sets these two apart, the most common method is the Magnet test.
Ferrous Metals are made of iron and steel thus, they are likely to stick to a magnet if it is kept in near contact. Your refrigerator is made up of ferrous metal that is why it is easier to stick magnets to it.
Contrary to it, Non-ferrous Metals are non-magnetic and are not attracted to magnets.
The Most Valuable Metal Scrap:
It has made obvious above that the non-ferrous metal scrap is worth more money than the ferrous metals. However, there are certain metals from the non-ferrous category that are the most demanded and high selling. Such metals include:
- Aluminum-due to its high susceptibility to water and liquids this metal is widely used for soda or food cans, windows, guttering and much more. Hence, Aluminum is the most used and recycled metal among others and therefore, most precious to the scrapers.
- Copper-it is the second most abundantly found metal in our daily routine. Every electric wire and electric machine you can find around has used a coil of copper in it which is worth approx. 6$ in the market.
- Gold-it isn’t a secret that gold is one of the most precious metal among others and is thus sold on high prices even it has been used for a numberless years. It does not loses its worth but the cost increase might increase based the recent markets.
Benefits of Metal Recycling:
The question that comes to the minds of most people are learning about the scrap metal market, is that, what is the need of recycling metal scrap? To keep it short, here are some of the basic pointers that stands for the significance of metal scrap.
- Fundamentally, scrap metal is an adequate source of gaining cash in return of an end-of-life useless item.
- Secondly, it saves environment from the hazardous substances that might fill up earth in the absence of the concept of recycling metal scrap.
- Most importantly, it saves time and energy which would have been served in order to mine virgin ores.
- Moreover, since manufacturers does not have to spend huge sum on buying metals it reduces the production cost and subsequently the selling cost of many products.
- Lastly, scrap metal business is a growing sector which has been producing job opportunity for a bunch of people.
How is Metal Scrap Recycled?
Recycling metal scrap is a step-by-step process that involves:
- Collection
- Sorting
- Formation
- Melting and purifying
- Solidifying
- And lastly, manufacturing.
Once a metal goes through each of these process it has been turned from a useless metal item to a raw material and then sent to a factory for manufacturing new products from it.
Conclusion
Whether you are a buyer or a seller metal scrap is a worthwhile asset for you. Scrap metal is an ever-growing industry which has been accelerated with the increasing interest in recycling goods. You just have to take any useless metal object lying uselessly around to a scrap yard like Botany Metal Scrape Recycling for earning a sum in no time.