How A Scrap Yard Works To Recycle Scrap Metal?

You’re familiar with reusing your plastic bags and old newspapers, but have you ever tried your hand at metal recycling? Unlike other materials, junk metals must be taken to a scrap yard to ensure a safe recycling process. So how do you start?

Preparing Your Scrap Metal For Recycling

Although most of the metal recycling process is done professionally, you can still take some preparatory steps at home. First, you must ensure that a product is at least 50% metal, then you can proceed to the following:

• Separate Your Scraps

In recycling, there are two classes of metals: ferrous and non-ferrous. Separating them into their respective categories will make the process much easier, and luckily, doing this isn’t so complicated.

Ferrous metals contain iron, which means they’ll easily stick to a magnet. IN contrast, non-ferrous scrap will not.

• Get To Know Your Metals

If possible, try and understand which metals you’ll be recycling. Some scrap yards may not accept a specific material and you’ll end up only wasting your time.

Ferrous metals are much easier to identify, as they’re mostly either steel or iron. On the other hand, non-ferrous scrap can be anything from copper to brass and aluminium.

To give you an idea, copper is slightly reddish-brown and found in plumbing pipes and electrical wires. Meanwhile, aluminium is whitish silver, used in food and beverage cans, window frames, and doors.

• Clean The Scraps

After sitting unused for a long time, your scrap metals may have accumulated some contaminants, such as oil, lubricant, and dirt. It’s best to clean them of these impurities before going to a scrap yard, increasing their chances of being accepted.

• Determine The Current Scrap Metal Prices

Finally, make sure to check today’s scrap metal prices before going to your local recycler. This way, you can get a near-accurate estimate of how much you’ll earn, as prices tend to fluctuate regularly.

For instance, top recyclers will pay around $1.00-$1.80 for a kilogram of aluminium, while copper is much more valuable at up to $11.50/kg.

How Scrap Yards Recycle Scrap Metal

Once The Preparatory Phase Is Completed, You Can Finally Take The Metals To A Trusted Recycling Yard! Experienced Recyclers Know The Process By Heart, And You Can Get To Know It Better Below:

• Processing - The metals are shredded to increase their surface-area-to-volume ratio and save energy in the following stages.
• Melting – The scrap metals are separated into their respective types and melted in large furnaces. Each furnace is set to the material’s melting temperature, taking anywhere from a few minutes to hours.
• Purification – Often done through electrolysis, this ensures that the final product is free of contaminants.
• Solidifying – The melted metals are formed into bars or sheets to prepare them for the final stage.
• Transportation – The final products are sent to various factories to make new products, such as car frames, containers, and home furnishings.

Are you looking for a scrap yard that can readily process your scrap metals? Consider calling Metal Force Recycling at 0403 191 732! We are a licensed merchant in Sydney, buying everything from junk vehicles to scrap copper, steel, aluminium, and brass.

About The Author

Metal Force Recycling is a licensed Scrap Metal & Car Removal company that has been in the business for over ten years now. Yasin Azimi, the Chief Operations Manager at Metal Force Recycling is a professional scrap metal merchant in Sydney; dealing in all types of scrap metals & car removal services. He tries to assist you with his years of expertise in paying the best possible cash for unwanted scrap metal and junk car removal. This company also offers reliable service, instant cash coupled with a transparent, and a hassle-free process. In addition, Yasin Azimi provides you with the best deals that you won't find in any other scrap metal & vehicle removal company!

Yasin Azimi is the Coo and IT Manager of Amazon Car Group (also known as Amazon Cash for Cars),