5 Facts Regarding Scrap Metal Recycling
Metal is often recycled and reused to make new products, which cuts production costs and is beneficial for the environment. If you are interested in making money off scrap metal recycling, you need to check out these five facts.
Non-Ferrous Metals Are More Precious
There are two different categories for metals: ferrous and non-ferrous, which simply mean magnetic and non-magnetic. Basically, a magnet will stick to ferrous metals, but it won't stick to non-ferrous metals. Ferrous metals include steel and iron. Non-ferrous metals are more precious and include stainless steel, copper, brass, bronze, etc. Because non-ferrous metals are typically more precious, they are also worth more, making them more desirable when scrapping metal. Similarly, different types of metals are worth more than others. For example, while stainless steel and copper are both non-ferrous metals, making them worth more than iron, but copper is worth significantly more than stainless steel.
Sorting the Metal Increases Your Profits
If your goal is to make the most money you can with metal recycling, you'll want to know how to sort your metal. To start, it's as easy as determining which metals are ferrous and which are not. If you are unable to identify the types of metal, simply use a magnet. However, you'll also want to sort the metal into smaller piles based on the type of metal (copper in one pile, steel in another, etc.). This is the best way to get the most money because if you have some copper hidden in a pile of steel, the facility is going to count it as steel. This is where some self-education comes into play because you need to learn to identify different types of metals.
Stockpiling Metal Is Also Beneficial
Whether you have a mountain of scrap metal or just a bucketful, you can take your metal into get traded for cash. However, to determine how much money you get for your metal, it is weighed. Therefore, the more weight you have, the more money you get, making it worth the trouble. It's not worth the trouble to take a handful of metal up every few days, so try to stockpile a bunch before you take the metal to the recycling facility. Also, this allows you to wait until some metals may be worth more as prices fluctuate.
Some Metal Is Rejected
Your metal can be rejected in some cases. Sometimes, the facility simply may not take a type of metal, so you'll want to call in advance to check what types of metals they take, so you don't waste time or gas. Another reason your metal may be rejected if it is a gas tank or contains a gas tank. Because of the potential dangers, any metal that once held gasoline must be properly prepared by cleaning and cutting a hole in the bottom. Also, any metal that clearly does not belong to you will be rejected unless you can prove you own it.
There Are Simple Solutions
Sometimes all the effort isn't worth the money you'll get. If you don't plan on recycling metal for the long term or you simply have a lot of metal from old appliances, you may not want to learn how to separate and prepare metal for recycling. Luckily, there are some companies that will do this for you. However, for them to make a profit and because they don't know what types of metal you have until they begin sorting them, you don't get much money. On the other hand, some of these companies also pick up your scrap metal for you, so all you have to do is make a call and collect some cash.
If you are interested in recycling scrap metal, these five facts will help guide you. Whether you're doing it to make a profit or you just want to get rid of some trash, there is a solution for you. For more information regarding metal recycling, contact a company like Scrap Metal Processors Inc that handles metal recycling today.
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