The Positive Environmental Impact of Recycling Scrap Metal

More than ever before, we are living in a society that puts an emphasis on recycling and sustainability, especially in an area like Greater Austin. But just because more people are doing it doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of areas for improvement, and it can be easy to gloss over the need for recycling on an individual basis. Read on to see how your contribution to sustainability can make an impact, not just in your city but in the global environment. 

Why Recycle Scrap Metal?

In today’s world, recycling is often taken for granted. Most people roll their recycling bin to the curb next to their trash bin, and then proceed to forget all about the recyclable items they put in it. But for a lot of people, the buck stops there, due to a lack of knowledge, time or attention. Fortunately, by expanding our recycling focus to scrap metal, we can make a major difference with only minimal effort. 

Scrap metal is a part of most of our lives in one way or another, whether it’s in large, post-industrial amounts or simply items lying around your home. It can be easy to let old appliances, electronics or vehicles collect dust for one reason or another, but when we let scrap metal pile up, we damage the environment—whether we mean to or not.

Metals decompose over time, which can introduce toxins to the environment. While this is unlikely to present a risk for you right now, in the long term it creates an environmental risk. 

The major impact of scrap metal recycling comes down to supply and demand: when we recycle, we are reducing the need to produce more metals, a process that pollutes the environment in addition to exhausting our natural stores of metal ores. Every item you hold on to causes more demand for new metals, and every item you recycle reduces that need! 

How Do You Recycle Scrap Metal?

The beauty of scrap metal is that in addition to the positive environmental impact of recycling, you can often get a nice chunk of change for your trouble. Begin by sorting out your scrap by metal type so that you can get the best idea of its value (and save time at the scrap yard), then come up with a plan to take it to a scrap yard near you. 

It’s often as simple as that! Recycling experts will be happy to do the brunt of the work—all you have to do is get the ball rolling and hand over your scrap metal. 

If dropping off your materials isn’t convenient, most scrap yards can also help with scrap removal and pickup while providing a fair price for your metal. That way, you get paid without the hassle of collecting, cleaning or hauling in your scrap. 

To learn more about recycling scrap and get a price quote for your scrap metal recycling, contact us today.