Back to Basics: An Introduction to

Metal Recycling
Welcome to the exciting world of metal recycmatter how carefully the architect plans the job
design, every project generates some waste. And if there’s demolition involved in the job, at the
end of the day, you could be hauling off tons of debris — or paying someone else to do it for you.
But have you ever considered scrap metal recycling as part of your demolition plans?
The bottom line is that waste costs money. The storage and removal of waste materials costs
construction businesses hundreds of dollars per project, yet many of those matter how carefully
the architect plans the job design, every project generates some waste. And if there’s demolition
involved in the job, at the end of the day, you could be hauling off tons of debris — or paying
someone else to do it for you. But have you ever considered scrap metal recycling as part of your
demolition plans?
The bottom line is that waste costs money. The storage and removal of waste materials costs
construction businesses hundreds of dollars per project, yet many of those matter how carefully
the architect plans the job design, every project generates some waste. And if there’s demolition
involved in the job, at the end of the day, you could be hauling off tons of debris — or paying
someone else to do it for you. But have you ever considered scrap metal recycling as part of your
demolition plans?
The bottom line is that waste costs money. The storage and removal of waste materials costs
construction businesses hundreds of dollars per project, yet many of those matter how carefully
the architect plans the job design, every project generates some waste. And if there’s demolition
involved in the job, at the end of the day, you could be hauling off tons of debris — or paying
someone else to do it for you. But have you ever considered scrap metal recycling as part of your
demolition plans?
The bottom line is that waste costs money. The storage and removal of waste materials costs
construction businesses hundreds of dollars per project, yet many of those matter how carefully
the architect plans the job design, every project generates some waste. And if there’s demolition
involved in the job, at the end of the day, you could be hauling off tons of debris — or paying
someone else to do it for you. But have you ever considered scrap metal recycling as part of your
demolition plans?
The bottom line is that waste costs money. The storage and removal of waste materials costs
construction businesses hundreds of dollars per project, yet many of those matter how carefully
the architect plans the job design, every project generates some waste. And if there’s demolition
involved in the job, at the end of the day, you could be hauling off tons of debris — or paying
someone else to do it for you. But have you ever considered scrap metal recycling as part of your
demolition plans?
The bottom line is that waste costs money. The storage and removal of waste materials costs
construction businesses hundreds of dollars per project, yet many of those ling! (Seriously, it’s a
lot more fascinating than you might think.) As some of the world’s most recyclable materials,
metals can be melted and refashioned into new products over and over again without losing
strength or fidelity. And unlike plastics, they don’t have to be “downcycled” into lower-grade
products to accommodate the degrading of the material—take that, plastic bottles!
Aluminum cans, in particular, are especially cost- and energy-efficient. Recycling an aluminum
soda can takes just 8% of the eneThen there’s yellow brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, which
most scrap metal recycling centers will happily take off your hands. Iconic for its use in musical
instruments like horns and bells, yellow brass is also in heavy rotation in door hinges, handles
and locks, as well as plumbing pipes and fixtures and electrical components. Brass is a heavy
metal that can add up fast on the scale. And because it’s non-ferrous (does not contain iron), it
will fetch you high prices at the scrap yard!
 
Stainless Steel
You’re probably already familiar with stainless steel—in fact, chances are you have some
stainless steel objects and fixtures in your kitchen or bathroom right now. Stainless is the most
valuable type of steel since it doesn’t rust like untreated steel. That’s because it’s actually a steel
alloy. A little bit of chromium is added during the production process to give it its rust resistance.
 
Stainless steel comes in a wide variety of grades and finishes, which can affect the value of the
steel when it comes in for trade. Because of this, it’s sometimes confused with aluminum, which
has a much lower market rate. Try testing your stainless steel products with a magnet Then
there’s yellow brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, which most scrap metal recycling centers will
happily take off your hands. Iconic for its use in musical instruments like horns and bells, yellow
brass is also in heavy rotation in door hinges, handles and locks, as well as plumbing pipes and
fixtures and electrical components. Brass is a heavy metal that can add up fast on the scale. And
because it’s non-ferrous (does not contain iron), it will fetch you high prices at the scrap yard!
 
Stainless Steel
You’re probably already familiar with stainless steel—in fact, chances are you have some
stainless steel objects and fixtures in your kitchen or bathroom right now. Stainless is the most
valuable type of steel since it doesn’t rust like untreated steel. That’s because it’s actually a steel
alloy. A little bit of chromium is added during the production process to give it its rust resistance.
 
Stainless steel comes in a wide variety of grades and finishes, which can affect the value of the
steel when it comes in for trade. Because of this, it’s sometimes confused with aluminum, which
has a much lower market rate. Try testing your stainless steel products with a magnet Then
there’s yellow brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, which most scrap metal recycling centers will
happily take off your hands. Iconic for its use in musical instruments like horns and bells, yellow
brass is also in heavy rotation in door hinges, handles and locks, as well as plumbing pipes and
fixtures and electrical components. Brass is a heavy metal that can add up fast on the scale. And
because it’s non-ferrous (does not contain iron), it will fetch you high prices at the scrap yard!
 
Stainless Steel
You’re probably already familiar with stainless steel—in fact, chances are you have some
stainless steel objects and fixtures in your kitchen or bathroom right now. Stainless is the most
valuable type of steel since it doesn’t rust like untreated steel. That’s because it’s actually a steel
alloy. A little bit of chromium is added during the production process to give it its rust resistance.
 
Stainless steel comes in a wide variety of grades and finishes, which can affect the value of the
steel when it comes in for trade. Because of this, it’s sometimes confused with aluminum, which
has a much lower market rate. Try testing your stainless steel products with a magnet Then
there’s yellow brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, which most scrap metal recycling centers will
happily take off your hands. Iconic for its use in musical instruments like horns and bells, yellow
brass is also in heavy rotation in door hinges, handles and locks, as well as plumbing pipes and
fixtures and electrical components. Brass is a heavy metal that can add up fast on the scale. And
because it’s non-ferrous (does not contain iron), it will fetch you high prices at the scrap yard!
 
Stainless Steel
You’re probably already familiar with stainless steel—in fact, chances are you have some
stainless steel objects and fixtures in your kitchen or bathroom right now. Stainless is the most
valuable type of steel since it doesn’t rust like untreated steel. That’s because it’s actually a steel
alloy. A little bit of chromium is added during the production process to give it its rust resistance.
 
Stainless steel comes in a wide variety of grades and finishes, which can affect the value of the
steel when it comes in for trade. Because of this, it’s sometimes confused with aluminum, which
has a much lower market rate. Try testing your stainless steel products with a magnet rgy
required to produce a brand-new container. In fact, almost 70% of aluminum cans come from
recycled materials—encouraging numbers, indeed.

Why Recycle Your Metal?

You can get a sense of why metal recycling is so important from the statistics above. But in case
you need more convincing, here are a few more persuasive facts about the metal recycling
business.

 Metal recycling has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases by 300 to 500 million tons.
 Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television for three
whole hours.
 A recycled can may be back on the shelves of the grocery store in less than 60 days.
 In 2006, Americans recycled enough cars to build almost 13.5 million new ones from the
ground up!
 Every year, Americans reduce their energy consumption by recycling steel—enough to
power the Los Angeles skyline for almost a decade.
 But we still throw out enough steel to rebuild our entire airfleet from scratch.

The bottom line is that metal recycling is energy efficient, good for the environment and cheaper
to process than new raw materials.
 
What Kind of Metals Can Be Recycled?
It’s not just cans that get the recycling treatment. All different types of metals—food-safe
aluminum and stainless steel, commercial grade copper and steel building materials, and
conductive metals like the gold and silver used in electronics—can be refashioned as brand-new
products.
Of course, just because it can be recycled doesn’t mean that your local metal recycling center
will take it off your hands. Your metal recycling yard probably has its own list of acceptable
materials—for instance, at Gardner Metals, we take aluminum, copper, brass, stainless steel,
iron, tin, and some exotic and rare metals found in electronics and building fixtures. Contact your
local recycling center to obtain a list of their materials (you can find centers near you using the
database on IWantToBeRecycled.org).
 
What Happens When Metal Is Recycled?
This is where the magic happens! Metal recycling is an involved process with quite a few steps,
and the type of donation affects how we prepare the metal for resale. But most material
donations go through the following stages.

 Sorting. We don’t expect our donors to know the difference between red and yellow
brass. So our first job is sorting your material donations by metal and grade. We use commercial
magnets to separate ferrous (iron-based) metals from other types, and high-tech sensors and
other tools help us make sure we know exactly what we’re dealing with.
 Cleaning. Most donations don’t come to us in pristine condition. Therefore, we treat them
to an advanced cleaning process before moving on.

 Processing. Metal recycling has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases by 300 to 500
million tons.
 Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television for three
whole hours.
 A recycled can may be back on the shelves of the grocery store in less than 60 days.
 In 2006, Americans recycled enough cars to build almost 13.5 million new ones from the
ground up!
 Every year, Americans reduce their energy consumption by recycling steel—enough to
power the Los Angeles skyline for almost a decade.
 But we still throw out enough steel to rebuild our entire airfleet from scratch.

The bottom line is that metal recycling is energy efficient, good for the environment and cheaper
to process than new raw materials.
 
What Kind of Metals Can Be Recycled?
It’s not just cans that get the recycling treatment. All different types of metals—food-safe
aluminum and stainless steel, commercial grade copper and steel building materials, and
conductive metals like the gold and silver used in electronics—can be refashioned as brand-new
products.

 Of course, just because it can be recycled doesn’t mean that your local metal recycling
center will take it off your hands. Your metal recycling yard probably has its own list of acceptable
Metal recycling has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases by 300 to 500 million tons.
 Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television for three
whole hours.
 A recycled can may be back on the shelves of the grocery store in less than 60 days.
 In 2006, Americans recycled enough cars to build almost 13.5 million new ones from the
ground up!
 Every year, Americans reduce their energy consumption by recycling steel—enough to
power the Los Angeles skyline for almost a decade.
 But we still throw out enough steel to rebuild our entire airfleet from scratch.

The bottom line is that metal recycling is energy efficient, good for the environment and cheaper
to process than new raw materials.
 
What Kind of Metals Can Be Recycled?
It’s not just cans that get the recycling treatment. All different types of metals—food-safe
aluminum and stainless steel, commercial grade copper and steel building materials, and
conductive metals like the gold and silver used in electronics—can be refashioned as brand-new
products.

 Of course, just because it can be recycled doesn’t mean that your local metal recycling
center will take it off your hands. Your metal recycling yard probably has its own list of
acceptable Materials are a lot easier to handle when they’re not in bulky shapes and sizes, so
our next step is to shred the metals into small scraps before they head into the smelter. This also
makes the metal recycling process more efficient, since it takes less energy to melt down
materials with a lower surface volume.
 Melting. This step really brings out your inner Bond villain! In order to convert the metals
into new products, they need to be melted down and reshaped into sheets and ingots. The
shredded materials are moved into a high-temperature furnace so they can be melted down and
tested for impurities.
 Solidifying. Once they’re completely melted, metals are poured out of the furnace and
into molds so they can be converted into bars, ingots, rods, billets or slabs. In these shapes,
they’re easier to manage during transport.
 Transportation. After cooling, the metals are shipped off to factories where they’ll be
processed into new cans, cars, columns, computers or whatever else they’re destined to
become!

 
How Much Money Can I Make Recycling Metal?
Show us the goods, and we’ll show you the money! Because market rates for different metals
fluctuate, it’s hard to give you a precise estimate of what’s its worth until you turn it in. However,
the going rate for common metals like iron or aluminum is a lot less than what you’ll get
for commercial copper, silicon or other relatively rare materials.
Most donors find that they make the most money by donating old appliances, electronics and
cars, rather than cans or other materials. If you’ve got a broken-down fridge on your hands, you’ll
usually get enough back to treat yourself to a fancy dinner out, which is not bad for a bunch of
junk!
 
Have some metal you’d like us to take off your hands? Contact the best metal recycling
center near you (Gardner Metals, naturally) today for more information.