Home > Waste Management Blog > Metal Recycling Is #1 in America

metal recyclingMore metal recycling takes place on the planet than all other materials combined. Its remarkable metallurgical properties allow it to be continually recycled from one product to another without any degradation in performance. The sources of metal scrap are bountiful, but they are categorized into 3 sections: obsolete scrap, prompt scrap, and home scrap.

  1. Obsolete scrap is produced from metal products at the end of their lives, and it might be many years before it becomes available – an example being The Golden Gate Bridge.
  2. Prompt scrap is produced from products made of metal and is available within months.
  3. Home scrap is produced from a mill and is available in weeks.

Even though 2 out of every 3 tons of new steel comes from metal recycling, it is still necessary to use some amounts of virgin materials because many metal products stay in service as durable items for decades at a time, and the demand for them across the globe continues to grow.

Beyond the scrap itself, the metal industry has been recycling its by-products for a long time – steelmaking slags, mill steel, and processing liquids. Likewise, sludges and dusts are processed, so other metals like zinc can be reclaimed and used.

Visit www.recycle-steel.org if you’d like to read more about the steel industry’s recycling achievements.

At Best Disposal, Inc., we have been serving Lexington, NC and surrounding areas since 1996. We offer excellent commercial and industrial waste disposal solutions, including wood, plastic and metal recycling. For more information, contact us today.