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Why Recycle Electric Motors?

The electric motor has been around in various forms for almost 200 years; in 1825, British scientist William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet, and in 1833 he created the first ‘commutated rotating electric machine’. Today, electric motors are ubiquitous, used for everything from cars to garage doors, playing invaluable roles in our daily lives. However, they don’t last forever, and when an electric motor stops working, the temptation might be to just throw it away. In this article, Hill Metal Recycling will detail why you should recycle your electric motors.

How do electric motors work?

Put simply, an electric motor works by using an electrical current to rotate an axle. This axle is attached to something at the other end, and the rotation powers this attachment. A coil carrying an electric current is surrounded by a magnetic field; the force of this magnetic field causes the coil to rotate and a commutator reverses the direction of the rotation at every half-turn, which keeps the coil’s momentum going and keeps it spinning. Of course, this process is scaled up or down depending on what the motor is powering; it could be something as simple as a toy or as complex as a car.

Types of electric motor

There are a number of different electric motors, each performing a different function as part of a wider circuit, appliance or machine. Types of electric motors include:

  • Alternators
  • Starters
  • Universal motors
  • Linear motors
  • Stepper motors
  • Servo motors

Why should we recycle electric motors?

When an electric motor stops working, it’s far from useless. Electric motors contain lots of useful components that can be recycled – in fact, lots of electric motors are 100% recyclable, so it’s crucial that we don’t condemn them to landfill.

Electric motors contain multiple recyclable materials

Electric motors contain a combination of copper and aluminium. Copper is used in a wide range of industrial applications thanks to its excellent conductivity, and it’s very valuable to people who recycle scrap metal. Most motors make use of a steel casing, which can also be recycled. Some motors also contain iron which, again, is recyclable.

Reducing landfill waste

We should recycle electric motors because the alternative puts an enormous amount of waste into landfill. As electric motors are so widely used, if they were all put into landfill when they stopped working, the impact on the environment would be massive. By disassembling the motors for parts and recycling said parts, we’re diverting an enormous amount of waste from landfill and back into useful life.

Get paid for scrap metal

Recycling companies like Hill Metal Recycling will pay good money for the parts from electric motors. As experts, we can carefully separate the various components of an electric motor, ensuring that everything that is recyclable gets recycled. We’ll even collect your unwanted motors from you at any time through our 24-hour collection service, giving you an excellent price for what we collect.

For more information about our scrap metal recycling services, please contact us today and we’ll be happy to help. We proudly serve customers across Harlow, Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas.