Scrap and Recycling Information and Articleshttp://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/Copyright Scrap and Recycling Information and ArticlessNews Scrap Metal: Throughout the ages, man has been recycling metals by melting and reusing them. A visit to almost any industrial area in the country will demonstrate that the scrap business is alive and well. You'll notice scrap processors (scrap facilities or scrap yards) where the scrap metal is piled high cranes are lifting and sorting the metals, and trucks are hauling the scrap metal in and out of the facilities. Recycling metal is important because it creates big business. It also plays an important role in conserving our national resources. It helps keep our highways and cities free from debris and helps preserve landfill space. In the U.S. alone, scrap metal processors handle the following approximate quantities of scrap metal yearly: 56 million tons of scrap iron and steel; 1.5 million tons of scrap copper; 2.5 million tons of scrap aluminum; 10 million tons of scrap automobiles; (This is included in the 56 million tons of scrap iron and steel recycled.) 1.3 million tons of scrap lead; 300,000 tons of scrap zinc; and 1 800,000 tons of stainless steel scrap. Example Iron ore is extracted from the ground. It is shipped to a mill where iron or steel--steel in this example--is made into different forms, such as sheet or bar stock. The steel is then shipped to a buyer, such as a stamping plant or screw machine shop, to be fabricated. During that fabrication, scrap metal is generated; then, it is sold for processing and/or melting. Scrap metal is also produced by the ultimate user at the end of the steel product's useful life. The obsolete product enters the recycling system at that point. After processing the scrap metal, the scrap processor will sell the processed scrap to a mill, foundry, or other concern that will use the metal to make new products. Examples of commonly recycled scrap metal products are: Aeronautical and aerospace equipment, including airplanes and rockets; Aluminum siding, doors, and window frames; Appliances; Automobiles; Bed frames and mattress springs; Bicycles; Bridges; Cast iron sinks and bathtubs; Computers; Cooking pots and pans; Electrical wire; Elevators; Eyeglass frames; Farm equipment; Food and beverage containers; Hospital equipment; Industrial cuttings; Industrial machinery; Locks and doorknobs; Office equipment and furniture; Park and playground equipment; Pipe; Railroad and subway cars; Roadbed reinforcing bars; Roofing; Ships; Structural steel building frames; Telephone wire; Tools; and Toys. Scrap recyclers purchase recyclables from various sources, including manufacturers of metal products; airlines and railroad companies; apartment complexes; automobile dismantlers; auto mechanics; builders, roofers, and other construction sources; demolition contractors; factories; mills; foundries; fabricators; farmers; federal, state, and municipal government agencies and programs; hospitals; universities; schools; machinists and appliance repair shops; municipal curbside collection programs; offices; stores; hotels and restaurants; plumbers and electricians; the general public; the U.S. Armed Forces; and utility companies. 1-3 Types of Scrap Metal Scrap metal is divided into two types: ferrous and nonferrous. Ferrous scrap is scrap iron and steel. This includes scrap from old automobiles, farm equipment, household appliances, steel beams, railroad tracks, ships, and food packaging and other containers. Ferrous scrap accounts for the largest volume of metal scrapped. Ferrous scrap is classified into almost 80 grades; additionally, there are another 40 grades of railroad ferrous scrap and even more grades of alloy scrap. Metal alloys are made from a combination of two or more metals. Nonferrous scrap metal is scrap metal other than iron and steel. While the volume of nonferrous scrap is less than ferrous scrap, it is more valuable by the pound. Here are some examples of nonferrous scrap: aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, titanium, cobalt, chromium, and precious metals. Millions of tons of nonferrous scrap metal are recovered by processors and consumed by secondary smelter, refiners, ingot makers, fabricators, foundries, and other industries in this country. Scrap metal, ferrous and nonferrous, can be categorized as either 'home scrap' or 'purchased scrap.' Home scrap is scrap generated at the mill, refinery, or foundry, and is generally remelted and used again at the same plant. Home scrap never leaves the plant. The other category, purchased scrap, is further classified as either industrial (also called prompt or new scrap) or obsolete scrap. An example of industrial scrap is a piece of metal that is cut or drilled. The metal that is cut or drilled out and is not incorporated into or made into the finished product is known as industrial scrap. The largest source of industrial scrap is the automotive industry. Obsolete scrap, also referred to as old scrap, is scrap that is worn out or unwanted in its form. Examples of obsolete ferrous scrap are automobile hulks, old farm equipment, and major home appliances. Examples of obsolete nonferrous scrap include radiators and catalytic converters from old automobiles, electrical boards from old computers, old pipes from buildings, and spent photographic film. Recyclers can recover copper and lead from radiators, platinum from automobile catalytic converters, gold from computer electrical boards, and silver from the spent photographic film. Purchasers of Scrap Metal Examples of purchasers of scrap metal are foundries, mills, mini-mills, brokers, peddlers, and scrap processors. The industry prefers either the term 'facility' or 'plant,' be used to refer to their place of business, but you may also see the term 'yard' used. Operations of Purchasers Scrap Processors (also known as Scrap Dealers or Scrap Recyclers) Scrap processors collect, sort, process, and eventually sell the scrap metal to foundries, mills, mini-mills, and other purchasers. Most processors handle both ferrous and nonferrous metals but may specialize in either. Exhibit A identifies the properties of ferrous and nonferrous metals and their sources. The equipment utilized by the scrap processor to process the scrap will vary with the type and volume of scrap the processor purchases. Most processors will have a crane that is either a traditional cable type or a hydraulic crane that is available on crawler, truck, pedestal, gantry, rail, or overhead mountings. Large magnets or grapples are attached to the cranes that lift and move the ferrous scrap. Processors may have a hydraulic baling press, an alligator shear, or hydraulic guillotine shear. Some processors have shredders that can turn an auto into much smaller pieces of scrap. Because shredders are very expensive machines, there are fewer in number. However, the shredders produce a large volume of tonnage. Additional equipment utilized to process the scrap might include scales, conveyors, mobile auto crushers, and the truck fleets and containers used to store and move the scrap from the originator to the end user. When the scrap metal arrives at the processor's location, the scale operator normally weighs the scrap placed on the scale and creates a cash slip/weight ticket. The cash slip/weight ticket generally identifies the type of metal, total weight, price per pound (or per cwt. or per ton), total amount to be paid, and name of the individual or business selling the scrap metal. The cash slip/weight ticket is then presented to the cashier for payment. If the processor services businesses where containers are kept on the seller's premises, these businesses, often referred to as industrial accounts, normally will be paid once or twice a month. The scrap market can be volatile. Even experts have a hard time predicting prices for any scrap commodity at any given time. For example, ferrous scrap valued at $100 a ton in one year can be worth $50 two years later and $130 the next year. In this market, the purchaser determines the market price. When demand increases for scrap metal, a higher price is offered to the seller. 2-1 When enough scrap has been purchased, the price begins to fall. There is less incentive for the processors to collect scrap when the price is low because the profit is also lower. If the market price of scrap metal is low and processors can afford it, some may stockpile scrap and sell later when the market is more favorable. Thus, inventories may vary depending upon market conditions. Most scrap processors eventually sell scrap metal to larger processors, foundries, or mills. Payment is usually made by check but can be made by wire transfer or in cash. Peddlers A scrap peddler is usually a sole proprietorship reporting on a Schedule C. The peddler purchases scrap metal and resells it to the scrap processor. Depending upon the size of the peddler's operation is, the peddler may have drivers working for him to help transport the scrap. The peddler may have industrial accounts at machine shops and stamping plants or may search for scrap metal. A peddler with industrial accounts may maintain containers at the customer's location to store the scrap metal. The peddler is different from the processor because he does not process or store the scrap metal. He merely transports the scrap metal from the seller to the buyer. When a customer calls or the peddler locates scrap metal, the peddler takes the scrap metal to a processor. The peddler may be paid by the processor upon delivery or later with or without an invoice being issued. The peddler usually does not deal exclusively with a specific processor but 'shops around' for the best price. Brokers Brokers act as agents for others in negotiating contracts, purchases, or sales. Brokers may act as intermediaries between any buyer or seller of scrap metal. The broker is different from the peddler because the broker may not take physical possession of the scrap. Sellers of Scrap Metal Types of Cases There is no limit to the types of businesses that may sell scrap metal. Listed below are some of the more common business operations. They are establishments engaged in: 1.Fabricating ferrous and nonferrous metal products, such as metal cans, tinware, hand tools, cutlery, general hardware, nonelectrical heating apparatus, fabricated structural metal products, metal forgings, metal stamping, ordnance, and a variety of metal and wire products; 2.Manufacturing metal bolts, nuts, screws, rivets, washers, formed and threaded wire goods, and special industrial fasteners; 3.Manufacturing iron and steel forgings or nonferrous forgings; 4.Manufacturing automotive stampings, such as body parts, hubs, and trim; 5.Manufacturing metal crowns and closures; 6.Manufacturing metal stampings and spun products, including porcelain and enameled products. Products may also include household appliance housings and parts; 7.Manufacturing, on a job basis, special tools and fixtures for use with machine tools, hammers, die-casting machines, and presses (commonly known as tool and die shops); 8.Cutting, slitting grinding, polishing, or sanding metal; 9.Demolishing buildings and selling scrap metal from the destroyed building; 10.Selling used auto parts, such as alternators and transmissions; 11.Purchasing and selling scrap metal; for example, peddlers and brokers; and 12.Conducting any type of business activity where the obsoleted equipment or buildings may be sold as scrap metal.Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:28:34 +0000http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-metal/http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-metal/ Scrap Plastics: "This is a new-to-the-world industry with huge energy savings. Recycling plastics uses only roughly 10 percent of the energy that it takes to make a pound of plastic from virgin materials" - Dr. Mike Biddle President MBA Polymers Of the estimated 22.4 million tons of plastics produced in the United States in 1998, only about 5.4 percent were recovered for recycling. Plastics used in durable goods (such as cars, electronics, and appliances) account for the largest proportion by weight of plastics in U.S. municipal solid waste (MSW). However, the mixed waste streams characteristic of these harder, engineered plastics are difficult to separate and, thus, complex to recycle. New separation technologies could increase recycling rates for plastics significantly. Introduction: The use of plastic in packaging has skyrocketed in that time and recycling has had a hard time keeping up. Society has enjoyed immense benefits from plastic, including greater energy efficiency. But plastics are derived from natural gas and petroleum — finite resources — and our ability to fully integrate plastic into the recycling loop is one of the biggest tests of America's willingness and ability to manage these resources responsibly. Plastics — synthetic polymers made from oil and natural gas — were introduced less than 100 years ago and quickly became the world's most used raw material. Plastics are much like natural polymers in amber, turtle shells, animal horns, human fingernails and hair. Other synthetic polymers include rubber as well as many paints and adhesives. Polyethylene is one of the simplest polymers — with two atoms of hydrogen attached to each carbon "vertebrae" of the chain. Polyethylene is one of the simplest polymers — with two atoms of hydrogen attached to each carbon "vertebrae" of the chain. Polymers are large molecular compounds formed by a change of smaller, identical molecules called monomers. Hydrocarbons derived from petroleum and natural gas are the basic building block of plastics. Carbon atoms provide the backbone of the chain and hydrogen atoms bond to individual carbon atoms along the chain. Polymers are also made in combination with other elements such as oxygen, chlorine, silicon and sulfur to form various resins with unique properties and characteristics. The Invention of Plastic Beginning in the 1860s, early man-made polymers were synthesized from cellulose and coal tar, and industrial uses were readily apparent. Various plastic polymers could be used instead of rubber, wood, glass or stone in several manufacturing processes. Many researchers helped give birth to plastics, but a Belgian-born chemist working in Yonkers, New York, earned naming rights by developing the first all-synthetic plastic. In 1907, while trying to develop a synthetic varnish, Leo Hendrik Baekeland blended the resin of two chemicals and heated the mix under pressure. The resulting polymer proved useful not only as a varnish, but also for making billiard balls. And radio cabinets. And buttons. And pipe stems, toilet seats and airplane parts. A good electrical insulator, this early plastic was also used in the emerging high-tech industries of telephone and camera manufacturing. Baekeland coined the term "plastics" — from a Greek root meaning "to form" — to describe this new category of man-made materials. The Plastic Revolution Extensive use of plastics began during World War I, when the use of petroleum – easier to process into resins than coal – became more widespread. The sheer material demands of the World Wars, and the economic hardships of the Great Depression in between, led to widespread use of plastics as a cheap substitute for other raw materials in a wide variety of consumer goods. Though negative associations with plastic as a "cheap substitute" persist, that attribute has placed a wider range of consumer goods within the reach of millions more people. It has helped the plastics industry develop new resins, new uses and spawn entire new industries. Today, plastic is used to make everything from pantyhose to prosthetic limbs, from toys to the window frames on the Space Shuttle. Plastic's Good Points The key to plastics' success, their popularity among manufacturers and consumers, is that they can be made to do many things economically. Plastics can be blended in different formulas and modified with additives to provide a wide range of characteristics to meet various product specifications. There are 40 categories of plastic and several specific grades within these. Plastics have a wide range of characteristics but most plastics share a few general attributes. Common attributes of plastics Chemical Resistance: Plastics generally hold up well when exposed to corrosive chemicals. It's one reason why so many cleaning products and other corrosive, potentially toxic fluids are stored in plastic. Thermal Insulation: Plastics do not transfer heat readily. Thus plastics are used to make siding, pot handles, microwave cookware, foam coffee cups and insulation in refrigerators, freezers and coolers. In textiles, thermal underwear is often made with polypropylene and the fiberfill of insulated winter coats is increasingly made from recycled #1 plastic (PET) bottles. Electrical insulation: Plastics do not generally conduct electricity well, the reason so many electric appliances, power cords, outlets and wiring are made of or coated with plastic. Lightweight: Plastic's light weight makes it valuable in applications where strength is needed at a minimal weight. Thus, plastic play structures can be strong enough to support the weight of chidren but be light enough that one person can move them. Nylon pantyhose can be strong and sheer. Kevlar® vests worn by law enforcement officers can allow freedom of movement but still stop the penetration of bullets. Plasticity: The word comes from the Greek word for "to form," and the variety of forms plastic can take is another key to its success. Plastics can be stretched into strands and woven into fibers to make textiles or injected into a wide range of simple or complex molds to make car parts, toys, beverage containers and artificial heart valves. Plastics on an Elemental Level The basic building blocks of plastics are hydrogen and carbon. The simplest plastics contain only hydrocarbon monomers, but other elements — oxygen, chlorine, fluorine and nitrogen — are introduced to the mix of many plastic polymers. This contributes to the diversity of potential uses for plastics, but also complicates recycling efforts. For most applications, plastics do not mix well with other plastics. Because of this, recycled plastic must be meticulously sorted by type before it can be reused in new products. Elements in common plastics Plastic: Contains: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC): Chlorine Nylon Nitrogen Polyester Oxygen Polycarbonates Oxygen Teflon® Fluorine Plastic Elements In addition to the various elements mixed with hydrocarbons to produce different plastic polymers, various additives are introduced to enhance specific properties or merely to alter appearance. These additives also complicate recycling efforts. Many black plastic disposable microwave dinner trays, for instance, are made of the same plastic (PET) as plastic soda bottles. But the black plastic cannot be recycled with clear plastic without discoloring it. Because black plastic microwave trays are not available in sufficient quantity to attract manufacturers, many residential recycling programs that otherwise collect PET do not accept these trays. Common plastic additives Flame retardants and stabilizers These additives inhibit the degradation of plastic caused by exposure to oxygen, heat, sunlight and water. Colorants Various chemicals are added to plastic consumer goods in response to consumer expectations. Plastic bottles and other packaging are often colorized, sometimes to assist in the marketing cause of brand differentiation, sometimes to help protect the contents from exposure to direct sunlight. Flow agents Chemicals are sometimes added to plastics in their fluid state to help them flow properly when they are molded into products. Release agents Release agents are sometimes added to help a new plastic product pop out of the mold properly. Lubricity Lubricating agents are sometimes added to improve the surface appearance of plastic products or to reduce tack and friction. Plastic Composites Consumer goods have long been made with layers of more than one type of plastic. This practice makes such products difficult to recycle, but since durable plastic goods are not a target of most public recycling programs, plastic layering has not been much of an issue. But the use of laminates in food and beverage packaging is another story. Laminates are meant to make plastic packaging practical where a single layer of plastic won't do. PET plastic is fine for juices, water and soft drinks, for example, but it allows oxygen to seep through. This oxygen shortens the shelf life of products such as tomato juice and beer and compromises the products' flavor. Bottlers and plastic manufacturers have therefore developed high-barrier bottles — layers of nylon, ethylene vinyl alcohol or liquid crystal polymers sandwiched between layers of PET to better seal out air. Because these various layers cannot be readily separated, such bottles are difficult to recycle with existing recycling programs and technologies. Sometimes recyclable plastic bottles are wrapped in a colorful layer of PVC, more for marketing purposes than anything. While these bottles are recyclable, the PVC wrap is not, and it should be removed. Recycling Rates Thermoplastics, the largest of the two groups of plastics, are inherently recyclable. Once formed into a product, they can be melted down and reformed repeatedly. In practice, however, only 5.4 percent of plastics discarded annually are actually recycled. Plastic in the waste stream Discard weight in millions of tons   Municipal solid waste Plastic waste Total discards 231.9 24.7 Recovered 69.9 1.3 Discard weight in millions of tons SOURCE: U.S. EPA Thermosets are the other distinct group of plastics. Unlike thermoplastics, thermosets decompose when reheated and thus are unrecyclable. Bakelite, the first all-synthetic plastic, was a thermoset. Today, the laminate Formica® and various "super glue" adhesives are among the better known thermosets in use. SOURCE: VIRGINIA TECH CHEMISTRY LEARNING CENTER Recycling Vs. Disposal It takes about as much energy to bury a ton of plastic in a landfill as is stored in 4.67 gallons of gasoline. Recycling a ton of plastic saves about as much energy as is stored in 197 gallons of gasoline. Recycling HDPE plastic saves slightly more, LDPE slightly less. The energy savings from recycling PET is about the same as the average for plastic. Because the energy used to convert fossil fuels to plastic is lost when plastics are burned for energy, waste-to-energy combustion is a relatively inefficient means of energy recovery. Burning a ton of HDPE or LDPE produces the energy equivalent of about 59 gallons of gasoline. Burning a ton of PET for fuel is even less efficient, generating the energy equivalent of almost 31 gallons of gasoline. Energy saved / Energy burned by solid waste management practice Measured in millions of BTUs per ton of plastic Plastic Recycling Combustion Landfilling HDPE 18.99 6.66 0.53 LDPE 24.10 6.66 0.53 PET 22.20 3.46 0.53 For comparison, the BTU value of a gallon of gasoline is calculated at 113,500. Recycling Plastic Containers & Packaging About 79 percent of the plastic recycled in the United States comes from disposable plastic packaging and beverage containers. Plastic packaging was designed to be disposable, part of the reason it became a focus of waste reduction efforts. But plastic packaging is also easier to sort through than other plastic products. While there are hundreds of varieties of plastic, just six are used in 60 percent of plastic production, including at least 90 percent of plastic packages and containers. U.S. plastic packaging recycling rates: 2000 IN THOUSANDS OF TONS Disposed Recovered % recovery Soft drink bottles 830 290 34.9% Milk bottles 690 210 30.4% Other containers 2,630 260 9.9% Bags, sacks & wraps 4,200 90 3.2% Totals 11,190 1,030 9.2% Some industries have set up recycling systems independent of the residential collection system to reduce the environmental impact of certain products. Makers of polystyrene foam — Styrofoam® or packing peanuts — set up The Peanut Hotline in 1991 to help people looking for ways to recycle loose-fill packaging. As of July 2001, over 250,000 have used the service. The hotline can help callers find the nearest drop-off site for plastic “peanuts” and similar packaging items. It is maintained by the Plastic Loose Fill Council (PLFC) at (800) 828-2214. The PLFC says that 30 percent of polystyrene foam is reused. New polystyrene foam now contains at least 25 percent post-consumer recycled content, according to the group. The organization notes that producing polystyrene foam takes 40 percent less energy, uses 33 percent less water and generates half the air emissions as the production of comparable paper packaging. Recycling Rates by Product Type Some plastic products are easier to recycle than others. The recycling rate for plastic in durable goods — household items with a life expectancy of at least three years — is low, and the recycling rate for nondurable goods such as disposable diapers, trash bags, tableware and shower curtains is negligible. Greater strides have been made in the recycling of plastic containers and packaging. Recycling rates vary among plastic containers, and leading the pack is the recycling of certain plastic beverage containers. 2000 U.S. plastic recycling rates BY PRODUCT TYPE; IN THOUSANDS OF TONS Plastic disposed Recycled plastic % recovery Durable goods 7,540 310 4.1% Nondurable goods 4,260 0 -- Containers & packaging 11,190 1,030 9.2% Total plastics in MSW 24,710 1,340 5.4% Carpet makers have long been allies of recycling. Half of new polyester carpet made in the United States is made from recycled PET bottles.   Carpet discards also contribute significantly to the waste stream. 1.1 percent by weight (more if measured by volume) of all municipal solid waste landfilled each year is carpet. Efforts to recycle carpet are growing, thanks in part to new chemical recycling processes. Rather than simply melting recycled plastic and forming it into new products, chemical recycling actually breaks plastics down to the molecular level. Contaminants such as backing, dirt and adhesives are removed and the remaining hydrocarbon monomers are repolymerized into new plastic. About 75 percent of the material — mostly metal — in a car is recycled when the vehicle is junked.   Very little automotive plastic is recycled, though plastic parts, including bumpers, instrument panels, seats and interior trim, make up 10 percent of a car's weight.   The Big Three U.S. automakers — DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. — have formed "The Vehicle Recycling Partnership" to encourage further development of automotive recycling.   The best hopes currently lie with froth flotation technology which makes it possible to separate small pieces of various plastics and other residue left after a car is shredded and the metals harvested. The residue is placed in hot water and various chemicals are added which will react with certain plastics and make them float. The bouyant pieces are skimmed off and another chemical is added. The technology works now, but is considered too costly and time-consuming for general use. Tue, 17 Apr 2007 11:01:15 +0000http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-plastic/http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-plastic/ Steel Recycling: Rest assured that any steel container or product you buy is made, in part, with recycled material. Steel has been recycled since long before it was called “recycling.” The two processes used for making steel today require a minimum of 25 percent recycled content. Like aluminum, post-consumer steel has high market value and has developed its own recycling system independent of community residential recycling programs. Also like aluminum, the rate of steel recycling by consumers lags behind industrial recycling efforts. Residential recycling programs can help boost overall steel recycling while earning income that can help pay for recycling less lucrative post-consumer material. The recycling rate for the steel industry is close to 64 percent, but much of the credit goes to automotive steel recycling – which captures close to 100 percent of vehicles taken off the road – and appliance recycling, which has achieved an 84.1 percent recovery rate. According to U.S. EPA figures from 1999, consumers recycled just 33.6 percent of their steel discards, with a 57.3 percent rate of steel can recycling propping up a 26.9 percent recycling rate for discarded durable goods. Markets for recycled steel All steel markets are recycled steel markets. The Basic Oxygen Furnace method for making steel for products such as cans, car bodies, appliances and steel frames requires at least 25 percent recycled steel. The Electric Arc Furnace method for making shaped steel products such as railroad ties and bridge spans uses virtually all recycled steel. Your local recycling program almost certainly accepts steel cans and probably offers collection dates or drop-off sites for steel appliances. The Ohio Appliance Recycling Roundup has been one of the most successful and comprehensive appliance collection efforts in the United States, according to the Steel Recycling Institute. But all steel is recyclable, either through your recycling program or local scrap metal dealers. Look for opportunities to recycle discards like old steel bottle tops and jar lids, stainless steel flatware, steel toys and other goods. A little advance preparation is needed to recycle other steel containers such as: Aerosol cans: Be sure to use up the product because the can must be empty to be recycled. If the can cannot be emptied because the nozzle is broken, consider returning it to the point of purchase. Empty aerosol cans can be recycled with other household steel cans. Paint cans: You can recycle paint cans with your other steel cans if you leave the lid off to allow any residue inside to dry out. Cans containing liquid paint you also plan to discard should probably be set aside for household hazardous waste collections. Oil filters: If you change and recycle your used motor oil, take a moment to recycle the oil filter as well. Carefully puncture the domed end of the can with a screwdriver and allow it to drain into your used oil recycling container. Your local recycling program probably does not routinely take old oil filters, but should be able to help you identify a local garage or scrap dealer who can. Conservation benefits of steel recycling • It takes approximately four times more energy to make new steel from iron, carbon and other elements than from recycled steel products. • For every pound of steel recycled, enough energy is saved to light a 60-watt bulb for 24 hours. • The energy saved by steel recycling each year is enough to meet the annual electric needs of 20 percent of American households. • Saving energy means cutting pollution and the environmental impact of mining. Recycling one ton of steel saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 pounds of coal and 40 pounds of limestone. • Ohio's steel industry has been a help to Ohio recyclers, purchasing nearly seven million tons of scrap each year from Ohio's 180 scrap dealers, shredders and buy-back centers. • Though steel enjoys a relatively high recycling rate, there is a lot of room for progress. Americans throw away more steel and iron annually than domestic automakers use in a year. • The steel industry recycles many of its by-products. More than 150,000 tons of slag – a gritty by-product of steelmaking – is used in paving roads, bridges, parking lots and other construction projects. Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:16:37 +0000http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-steel/http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-steel/ Aluminium Recycling: The environmental benefits of aluminum recycling are enormous. Fortunately, so are the economic benefits. The advent of the aluminum beverage can in the 1960s helped spur the development of community recycling programs. Markets fluctuate over time, but traditionally the high market value of scrap aluminum has generated enough income to allow recycling programs to pay for other, less lucrative recycling services. Recycling is as valuable to the aluminum industry as aluminum is to the recycling infrastructure. The capital costs for making aluminum from recycled material is far lower than the capital investment needed to derive aluminum from its source – bauxite ore. It takes 12 to 20 times more energy to make aluminum from bauxite than making it from recycled aluminum. Because most electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels, that energy savings translates into further conservation of natural resources and a significant reduction in pollution.. The Reynolds Metals Company estimates that producing recycled aluminum produces 95 percent less pollution than making aluminum from virgin ore. Despite these benefits, only about 33 percent of America's aluminum in 2001 came from recycled scrap and much of the credit goes to industry. While consumers recycled nearly 36 percent of their aluminum discards in 1990, that recycling rate had dropped to only 27.8 percent by the end of the decade. Markets for recycled aluminum Transportation, beverage cans and other packaging, and building construction are the top markets for the aluminum industry. Transportation is the largest market for aluminum in the United States, accounting for 32.5 percent of domestic shipments in 2000. Almost two-thirds of that aluminum is used to make car and light truck components, and the vast majority of that material is recycled – up to 90 percent according to the Aluminum Association. The use of aluminum in car parts also drives other conservation benefits: Lightweight aluminum body panels and engines, for instance, are used to improve the fuel efficiency of some cars. While their prominent place in America's recycling bins give beverage cans the most visible role in aluminum recycling, cans actually amount to less than 30 percent of post-consumer aluminum recycling. Americans went through more than 100 billion aluminum cans in 2000, but recycled just 54.5 percent of them, according to the Container Recycling Institute. The aluminum can recycling rate has rollercoastered generally downward since 1992, when a 65 percent recycling rate was achieved. Building construction is the third biggest market for aluminum, accounting for 13.1 percent of shipments in 1999. Aluminum doors, windows and siding are a major source of recycled aluminum, and recycled aluminum is increasingly used in their production. Other post-consumer and industrial scrap aluminum, from metal filings to old lawn chairs and engine blocks, go to secondary aluminum smelters. Wabash Alloy, the world's largest producer of recycled aluminum, operates two of the world's largest aluminum smelters in Ohio. Most of their product – molten aluminum – is sold to the automotive industry, primarily for use in making aluminum automotive engine blocks. Ohio is also home to dozens of small smelting operations which handle recycled material. Conservation benefits of aluminum recycling Recycling an aluminum can saves the energy equivalent of six ounces of gasoline. In 2000, Americans recycled 54.8 million aluminum cans, saving the energy equivalent of 2.58 billion gallons of gasoline. Had we recycled the other 46 billion cans we used that year, we could have saved another 2.15 billion gallons of gas. • Reducing energy consumption and use of virgin raw materials cuts pollution as well. In 1999, aluminum beverage can recycling • The energy saved by recycling one aluminum can is enough to run a television for three hours. • In three months, Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild the commercial air fleet. • Americans threw away half a million tons of aluminum last year, worth nearly $800 million. • The energy needed to replace the aluminum cans discarded in the United States each year could power a city the size of Atlanta for a year. Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:09:08 +0000http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-aluminum/http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-aluminum/ Glass Recycling: Glass is the least finite of the non-renewable natural resources targeted by community recycling programs. Glass is made from abundant and cheap materials – sand, limestone and potash – but recycling glass still reduces pollution, conserves landfill space and reduces energy consumption. As with aluminum and plastic, community glass recycling programs have focused on glass containers for beverages, food and other consumer products. Most glass that ends up in the municipal waste stream – 11.1 of 12.6 million tons in the U.S. in 1999 – is glass containers. The glass in glass containers is easily and repeatedly recyclable whereas the glass in some other consumer products – light bulbs, cookware and window panes among them – contain ceramic which leads to cracking and other blemishes in glass containers. The need for a relatively contaminant-free supply of cullet – broken glass – to use recycled glass in the manufacture of new bottles has hampered glass recycling efforts. The trend in curbside recycling collection has been to mix recyclables in the collection truck and to sort them out at the end of a run at a materials recovery facility. This has contributed to an increase in overall recycling rates, but leads to a lot of breakage and contamination of glass. Another problem for glass recycling has been the emergence of plastic in the container market.. Shipments of glass bottles dropped from 3.6 billion units in 1994 to 800 million units in 2000, a period when PET bottle shipments doubled to 25.6 billion units annually. Glass makes up 5.6 percent of municipal solid waste in the United States, according to 1999 federal figures, and glass recycling recovered just 23.4 percent of the 12.6 million tons of glass discarded that year. Markets for recycled glass Glass bottle makers still provide a strong market for recycled glass containers, when they can get it in furnace-ready condition. To be recycled as new bottles, glass must be separated by color (the amber, green and blue tint to some 45 percent of glass bottles cannot be removed) and cleaned of any dirt, ceramics, window glass and other contaminants. For glass too contaminated to be recycled as containers there are several other markets. Mixed cullet is used to make “glassphalt” for road surfaces, backfill and stormwater drainage systems. It is used as a sandblasting abrasive, as a frictionator to help light matches and detonate ammunition. It is also used to make fiberglass insulation, reflective paint, ceramic tiles and costume jewelry. One of the world’s biggest marble makers, Jabo Inc. in southern Ohio, uses all recycled glass. The development of these secondary markets for recycled glass have helped the recycling infrastructure, and they are certainly preferable to landfilling glass, but they are a far cry from genuine recycling – turning old glass containers into new glass containers. Much of the environmental benefit of glass recycling, such as reduced energy consumption and pollution, are diminished greatly if old bottles are simply replacing sand in some engineering and industrial projects. Currently, glass containers made in America contain an average of about 35 percent recycled material. Conservation benefits of glass recycling • Making glass from recycled cullet uses half the energy it takes to make glass from sand, limestone and potash. • The energy saved by recycling one glass container can light a 100-watt bulb for four hours. • Making glass from recycled cullet reduces air pollution by 20 percent and water pollution by 50 percent. • Recycling also means less mining and mine waste. Each ton of recycled glass reduces mining waste by 500 pounds. • Because recycled cullet melts at a lower temperature and is less corrosive than the raw materials that make glass, glass recycling actually prolongs the useful life of melting furnaces. Tue, 17 Apr 2007 09:02:01 +0000http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-glass/http://www.scrapb2b.com/articles/home/scrap-glass/