As society grows ever more eco-conscious, you may find yourself asking “why do we recycle metals?” There are so many reasons why recycling metal is beneficial, both to us and our environment. Here are 5 of the most common benefits...
- Get paid
- Reduce waste in landfill
- Reduce energy use
- Help the economy
- Protect natural resources
Why should we recycle scrap metal?
1) Get paid
One of the simplest and most widely-appealing reason to recycle metal is that you can get paid for it!
Here at A&L, for example, we offer up to £4,500 for a tonne of copper wire. The average person is unlikely to have a whole tonne of copper wire just lying around, but at that rate, even a small amount of copper wire can fetch a decent price. For example, if you’re rewiring your house, you can get rid of the old wiring by recycling it. At £4,500 per tonne, and with an average house containing up to 195lbs (88.45kg) of copper wire, you could earn nearly £400 by recycling yours.
2) Reduce waste in landfill
A wide variety of metals are 100% recyclable. They can be recycled forever without degrading in quality, so once you’ve finished with an aluminium can, it become another aluminium can within 60 days, or it can become something else entirely.
By taking scrap metal and making it into something else, recycling keeps scrap metal out of landfill. Landfills are infamously bad for the environment, carrying toxic chemicals from our waste which contaminate nearby soil and water sources, producing greenhouse gases, and causing a whole host of other problems.
3) Protect natural resources
By recycling and re-using metal, we require less raw material to be taken from the earth’s limited resources. At a time of increasing concern over humanity’s environmental impact, this alone is a great reason to recycle.
4) Reduce energy use
Less mining also means fewer emissions from the mining industry, because recycling metal takes significantly less energy than mining new ore.
For example, recycling steel uses 70% less energy than mining and refining the iron ore from which steel is made. Recycling metal in general emits 80% less CO2 than production from raw materials. Energy is saved across every kind of metal that can be recycled: according to the British Metals Recycling Association, CO2 emissions are reduced by 65% when copper is recycled instead of mined. Recycling one tonne of tin saves 99% of the energy required to produce tin from mining. All of this makes the environmental impact of recycling a very persuasive reason to recycle scrap metal.
5) Help the economy
The disruptive and expensive nature of mining means that the price of virgin metal is incredibly high. Recycling brings that price down to more affordable levels, which is better for everyone.
Recycling also creates jobs! Dumping waste into landfill might only take one employee with a truck, but a recycling plant necessitates a whole host of jobs within the waste management sector. The creation of new jobs is a huge benefit to the economy.
A&L Scrap Metal Recycling
Here at A&L, we are experienced scrap metal merchants. From copper, lead and brass to household appliances and other everyday objects, we will purchase any scrap metal you want to get rid of, at the best prices around.
If you have any questions about our scrap metal recycling service, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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