Why is Metal Recycling Important?

Metal Recycling has a Positive Impact on the Environment

Recycling reduces the amount of waste that goes into landfills, and reduces the need to mine for new materials, which helps to reduce our carbon footprint. To put it in perspective, mining destroys the environment, large parts of mountain ranges and fields are cleared out, which means that plants and wildlife are stripped of their homes. Explosives may be used to clear these areas, which will permanently change the landscape. Down the road when the mining is complete, the land must be reclaimed, which may take years for the natural habitat to grow back.

Metal Mining Review puts it best, “Conservation is a significant motivation to recycle metal. Metal is mined, and miners search for metals elsewhere as dug sites dwindle. If this trend continues unchecked, most regions will have massive excavation holes. Recycling metal reduces mining’s environmental impact by replacing virgin ore. Mining pollutes the air, water, and soil and destroys delicate natural habitats. After a mine closes, toxic runoff can pollute lates, streams and marine ecosystems for decades. Recycling metal prevents this and protects the environment.”

Recycling metals helps to reduce pollution and other negative environmental impacts including air, water, and soil contamination by proper waste management and disposal. 

Helps to Preserve Natural Resources

Recycling metals reduces the need for mining and extracting new ores, which helps to conserve valuable natural resources. Some examples are coal and iron ore, which are used in metal production. The recycling process does not require use of these resources, which leads to a better chance at conserving them.

Since metals are able to be recycled infinitely, they have the ability to be reused and repurposed to meet manufacturing needs around the world. Promoting metal recycling would lessen the necessity for intrusive metal mining, safeguarding our wildlife and cutting down on greenhouse gasses.

Reduces Energy Usage

Recycling metals can significantly reduce energy usage in manufacturing processes, with an average reduction of 75% or more. This results in lower greenhouse gas emissions. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, recycling a single aluminum beverage can save enough energy to run a 60-watt light bulb for over four hours. Imagine how much energy we can save by recycling our scrap metal!

Metal recycling reduces ore demand by minimizing the need for natural metals. Processing scrap metal uses less energy than mining, purifying, and shaping ore. For example, recycled aluminum saves copper, steel, and energy!

Metal Recycling is Repeatable

As mentioned above, most metals can be recycled nearly an infinite amount of times. There are other goods that can be recycled, such as paper, plastic, or cardboard. When these goods are recycled, they lose a portion of their material properties each time. This is not the case for metals. Metallic materials can be remelted into their raw state. However, as the global demand for metals rises, so does the need for more mining. Because metal recycling is repeatable, there is no reason for these materials to be put into a landfill.

Recycling Benefits the Supply Chain

By consistently recycling scrap metals, these materials are reintegrated into the supply chain. This helps to maintain a steady flow within the supply chain, providing significant advantages for manufacturing companies, while simultaneously contributing to environmental efforts!