Why is it important to scrap metal?
The process of scrapping metal that is no longer required or is a waste product is nothing new. In fact, it’s a fairly common practice in a wide range of industries.
While many people will opt to scrap metal in order to make a bit of money from their waste, it’s actually an extremely important process that has a wide range of benefits.
In this article, the team at Hill Metal Recycling will take a closer look at the importance of scrap metal recycling.
Why is it important to scrap metal?
As mentioned above, the process of scrapping metal is extremely common, with people across the country heading to scrap metal merchants on a daily basis to process their metal.
This process is extremely important for a number of reasons, which we will outline in the sections below.
It’s good for the environment
Perhaps the biggest benefit of scrapping metal is the environmental benefits it brings. Just like recycling plastic, glass and other materials, recycling metal will see it become reused and repurposed, meaning there is less of a demand for new metal to be used.
This is particularly beneficial for metal as it also helps to preserve precious natural resources. This is because when metal is mined, resources such as coal and iron ore are used. As well as being non-renewable, these materials have been known to be among the main contributors to climate change.
In fact, it’s predicted that coal combustion accounts for more than 40% of the world’s greenhouse gases, so it’s easy to see how reducing this number by scrapping metal can be good for the environment.
Furthermore, metal is one of the few materials that, when recycled, does not lose its original properties, meaning there is no reason not to recycle it.
It’s easily recyclable
Other than radioactive or toxic metals, every other metal type can be recycled.
This makes the scrap metal process extremely straightforward as you can bring just about anything to a recycling plant.
At most, you might be asked to separate the metals into ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
This is fairly easy to distinguish between as ferrous metals contain iron, whereas non-ferrous metals do not. Using a magnet is a good way to tell the difference as ferrous metals will always be attracted to the magnet.
It produces less waste
As well as reducing the need to dig for new metal, another environmental benefit of scrapping metal is that it means less waste is produced.
If metal is simply disposed of rather than scrapped or recycled, it will inevitably end up in landfill, which only adds to the problem.
Landfills are the biggest chemical pollution contributor, and currently, there are more than 4,000 landfill sites in the UK alone.
You can make money
Not only will you be helping the environment by scrapping metal, but you can also be paid for doing so.
Scrap metal can be lucrative, and when you visit Hill Metal Recycling’s scrap metal yard, you can rest assured that you will always receive the best prices and instant payment.
If you have large quantities of scrap metal that you’re looking to responsibly dispose of while making some money at the same time, Hill Metal Recycling is here to help.
We have more than 25 years of experience in the industry, and regularly recycle ferrous and non-ferrous metals in the most sustainable manner.
Simply visit our scrap metal yard in Harlow, Essex or get in touch with our team today to organise a collection service.
