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3 Uses For Recycled Scrap Metal

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When recycled metal is used, there's a reduction in air pollution, water usage and water pollution when compared to the use of virgin metal. Recycling metal also reduces the pressure on landfill sites, and when you take your scrap metal to a recycling centre, you have the additional benefit of earning some spare cash for it. So, what actually happen to scrap metal? Here's an overview of three ways recycled scrap metal is used:

Industrial Production

Scrap metal can be used in a number of industries, including construction and transportation. Scrap iron is used in the construction of bridges and roads, and scrap aluminium is used to make appliances, such as washers and dryers. Aeroplanes, cars and shipping containers can be made with scrap metal, and it's cheaper to manufacture goods with scrap metal than it is to use virgin metal.

Home Furnishings

Metal furniture can be made from recycled metal, which can either be melted down and transformed into a new product or kept in its original state and used in a new way. For example, melted scrap plumbing parts can be made into a lamp, while an aluminium sign board can be used as a table top. Furniture made with melted scrap metal is highly-durable, as the process used to melt the metal, which involves the use of an electric arc furnace, uses lower temperatures than is required when working with virgin metal. This manufacturing process can lead to the recycled metal being stronger than its virgin metal counterpart.

Artistic Uses

Artists can transform scrap metal into sculptures, decorative frames, grilles and wall hangings. For example, nuts and bolts from cars can be used to create a sculpture of an animal for an art installation focusing on the impact of modern conveniences on the natural world. Using scrap metal for a purpose that's purely creative might seem wasteful to some, but creating art can be therapeutic for the artist and the observer.

When you take your scrap metal to your local recycling centre, it will be weighed and sorted by type. The price paid per kilo of scrap metal goes up and down in accordance with market fluctuations, but you can call ahead and ask the recycling centre for the current prices for the types of metal you have. Recycling scrap metal is both environmentally conscious and financially savvy, so give your aluminium cans the opportunity to travel the world as part of an aeroplane.


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