Advantages and disadvantages of metal recycling

Often when people think of recycling materials they assume that the material is broken down and made into something brand new. For example, you can purchase clothing which is made from recycled plastics. However, the properties of metals are so strong that they can be melted down and turned into another metal product, remaining just as strong and durable.

The metal recycling process involves:

• collecting and transporting the used items to a recycling centre
• breaking up and sorting the different metals
• removing impurities from the metals

Advantages of recycling metal

The alternative to recycling metal is creating metal from scratch, or metal ores. Here are some of the main advantages to recycling metal:

• more economic - less energy is needed to produce a metal
• less damage to the environment - fewer quarries and mines, less noise and less heavy traffic
• saves valuable raw materials - reserves of metal ores will last longer

Disadvantages of recycling metal

The only real disadvantages to recycling metal arise during the actual recycling process. These include:

• The pollution produced from the transportation of the metal and the fuel of the workers getting to and from the sites
• The process can take time as it can be difficult to separate the different metals

In Summary

When you consider the disadvantages compared to the advantages of recycling metal, it is a no brainer that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

A4 Metal Recycling Ltd is a family run business with over 30 years’ experience in scrap metal recycling. We do our utmost to recycle or reuse all materials purchased and keep waste to a minimum at all times. We pride ourselves in paying you the best prices possible for your scrap metal. We also offer a scrap metal collection and skip hire service at a small charge.

To find out more, click here.