Recycling scrap metal—even when it’s rusted—has benefits. From an environmental perspective, it prevents expending the resources to make new products. There’s a financial incentive, as well. Turning over your excess or useless metal can be lucrative due to the high demand. After you do, there’s a process that turns excess old metal into a useful commodity again. 

How Does Scrap Metal Get Recycled?

1. Collecting & Sorting

Cars are a common source for scrap metal. However, scrap has numerous other sources, including stainless steel kitchen sinks, batteries, old plumbing, radiators, and railroad tracks. Beyond steel, scrappers also look for aluminum, copper, and brass. 

When it’s collected, the different metals are separated by color, weight, or type. To do this, scrappers will use magnets, senors, or sort the metal by hand. 

2. Shredding

Metal is crushed and shredded into sheets or blocks to prepare it for the melting process. By creating smaller pieces, less energy will need to be used to melt it down. 

3. Melting

Now in a smaller form, the sorted and shredded metal is placed into specific furnaces designed to melt that type of metal. Scrappers use fuel-efficient burners to reduce the effects the melting has on the environment. While it takes a great deal of energy to melt the items down, it’s still substantially less than it would take to produce new metal from raw materials.

4. Purification

After the scrap metal has been reduced to a molten state, it’s purified by eddy current electrolysis. This makes the metal purer and strips it of imperfections and impurities, making it ready to be reused.  

5. Recirculation

With the purification process completed, the metal is poured into a mold and allowed to cool and re-solidify. For easy transportation and production, scrap metal is turned into bars or other simple forms. 

Once solidified, the metal is transported to different factories where it will be used to create new products. For instance, steel and aluminum are often recycled into food or beverage containers, fixtures, roofing, and even metal artwork. 

If you need your scrap metal removed and recycled, reach out to Metalico Rochester. Whether you have a rusted ladder or broken down aluminum siding, they’ll happily pick it up for you. Known for their fast payments and fair prices, you’ll come away with less junk but more money. To schedule a pick-up, call them at (585) 436-0713. For more information on their services, including selling used auto parts, visit their website.