Metal is one of the many materials that we use every day. It’s worth recycling it once it has served its intended purpose. There are many items that can be recycled, including aluminum cans, steel cans (both metal and plastic), electrical appliances, silverware and legs from desks and office chairs, old pots and pans for cooking and baking, lockers in schools, offices or sports, gates, step-ladders or zippers. The list is endless. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough electricity to run a television for three hours.
Below are some interesting facts that we hope will inspire you to consider metal as a precious resource, and not only scrap. If metal was not available to manufacture, we might find it difficult to afford or easy to travel to school every day by bus, car, or train.
Interesting Metal Recycling Facts
- Metal recycling benefits the economy and environment.Increased local employment and decreased emissions.
- One ton steel can save 1,136 kg iron ore, 454 kg coal and 18 kilograms of limestone.
- Magnets can be used to test the metal content of your bin.Steel is magnetic, whereas aluminum metal is not.Great learning for children
- Food cans and drink cans are typically made of steel, while beverage cans are usually made of aluminum.
- After the original products have reached their end of life, metal recycling can be used to create new items.
- Iron and aluminum scrap can be recycled to benefit local construction projects, such as roads and buildings.
- Scrap metals can be repurposed to create bikes, cars, planes and other forms of transportation.
- The United States of America recycles ferrous scrap annually, enough to build more that 900 Golden Gate Bridges in San Francisco.
- Many shipping containers are made from recycled metal.
- Recycling scrap metal has helped many industries reduce their environmental impact, e.g.Reduced mining of scarce and natural resources.
- Recycling aluminum allows for a lower melting temperature than that of new aluminum. This saves energy.
- Recycling scrap metal helps to reduce Co2 emissions from mining, transportation, and smelting.
- Metals that have been recycled, reused or repurposed can be used for beautiful and durable home furnishings and decorations.Consider the holiday season!
- Recycling scrap metal can reduce the need for landfills and have a positive impact on soil, water, and land.
- A typical computer contains about 1.5 kg of copper. A typical home has around 100 kg, and a windmill weighs 5 tons.
- In Europe, in 2014, over 2.1 million tons of copper was recycled from products that were no longer needed and factory waste.
- China is the second largest steel scrap consumer in the world after the EU.
- Steel products can be recycled without losing strength.
- A scrapped car can produce more than four streetlights.
Did you know?
Aluminum is produced from Bauxite ore. This is a white powder that is converted to alumina. The powder is then heated to over 700degC and melted into aluminum. This process is costly and consumes a lot of resources, including fuel and energy.
Aluminum is recycled in many everyday items, but foil trays for ready-to cook food are hard to recycle because they are very light. They are also usually covered with food when baked. Many homes, schools and offices, pubs, restaurants, and pubs throw away these items without giving much thought to the environment. It’s about time you tried a reusable option to foil food wrap and foil cooking trays!
In Conclusion
Do you know that manufacturing metal products from recycled metal uses 17 times less energy compared to manufacturing the same item using newly mined metals? Remember this when you replace washing machines, stoves, ovens, or hobs. All of them contain metal which can be recycled. Break down and recycle large appliances every day. Included are washing machines, dishwashers, and tumble dryers.