Environmental Benefits of Scrap Metal Recycling
Want to know the environmental benefits of scrap metal recycling? If you have a workshop, you can fix the bent, disfigured, and broken metal parts. You can even fill it and paint it to make it look like a new one.
You can make good use of some scrap metals with this technique. But not all people have a full-fledged workshop at their disposal. Actually, there are several benefits of scrap metal recycling and other ways to make the best use of it.
Even if you fall into the same group of people, you don’t have to worry a bit. You can sell it to scrap metal recyclers and earn top-dollar cash. In doing so, you will not just earn a good deal of money in the process but also make an effort to save the environment.
And here are all the environmental benefits of scrap metal recycling.
Better Energy Consumption Management
Mining metals from ore is a complicated process. It takes sedulous efforts to extract ores from mines, metals from ores, and finally to purify extracted metals. All of these processes require a lot of energy.
But the recycling process includes shredding the scrap metals, melting them, and purifying them, which is rather less complicated. And it also consumes less amount of energy.
So in the production and manufacturing process, the end products made from recycled scrap metal are economical and energy-efficient as well. But the energy conserved depends on the type of metal.
In the case of Aluminum, it’s 92%. As for copper and steel, the energy conserved is 90% and 56% respectively. It’s quite interesting that the energy conserved by recycling a single soda can be used to power a 60-watt light bulb for over four hours.
Lower Carbon Emissions
The mining of metals poses various environmental hazards including groundwater pollution and toxic runoffs. And since mines are usually available in extreme landscapes, blasting, and tunneling are to be carried out.
This creates many environmental deformations, which can take several years to get into shape again. On a side note, mining destroys the habitats of several living beings. And in most cases, it creates unstable geological conditions.
Bombing extreme landscapes to form tunnels for mining, the roasting of ores, pulverizing, and purification creates various foul gases. And if coal is used for heating purposes, the emission of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is even more.
And this kind of carbon emission takes a direct toll on climate change. At the same time, these carbon products also cause harmful air pollution and can cause difficulty in respiration amongst dwellers.
Some reports suggest that we can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by up to 500 million tons when we recycle metals. Furthermore, compared to the extraction of metals from ores, recycling scrap metals also helps to reduce the generation of mining waste by up to 97%.
So apart from lowering carbon emissions, recycling scrap metals contributes to reduced production of waste and toxic byproducts.
Conserve the Natural Resources
Bent, broken, and disfigured items don’t have much value. It remains as garbage serving no purpose. But the benefits of scrap metal recycling are it rejuvenates and make it purposeful once again.
Also, recycled metal is barely different from virgin metal. This similarity helps the recycled metals fill in the demand for the new metal.
And it consequently helps to reduce the direct dependence on natural resources. Since mining the ores requires blasting and tunneling, it also prevents the destruction of the habitats of many living organisms.
Avoid Piling up Landfills
If you keep on dumping out the scrap metals, it forms a huge pile of metal junk. And since metals take hundreds of years to decompose, the pile will only grow up. These kinds of scrap metals in landfills release chemicals with time.
And once these kinds of chemicals are released, it pollutes air, water, soil, and the natural resources nearby. So recycling scrap metals not just avoids the formation of the metal landfill but also helps to prevent environmental pollution to some extent.
Clean Environment
The extraction of virgin metals from ores causes different chemicals to release into the environment. And this ultimately gives rise to various environmental pollution.
On a side note, if scrap metals are not recycled, it piles up the landfill, which again aids in environmental pollution. But if recycled, it doesn’t require the extraction of metal from ores.
And as the scrap metals are taken for recycling, it will avoid the formation of metal landfills. This ultimately helps to clean the environment.