Scrap refers to the discarded object or a waste product that is generated after an object has lost its utility. A scarp can be anything from an old piece of paper to an old piece of wood. However, scrap is often used to mean an old piece of metal object that is usually sent for recycling. Thus recycling scrap has two-fold utility. Firstly, it reduces the massive waste generated in the present capitalistic world. Secondly, it produces many new products of great utility without harnessing any new raw materials.

For instance, recycled tin can be readily made into cans if someone can invest in buying automatic can sealers. Thus, once a recycling process is fully functional several useful products can be created and sold in the market.

5 Facts You Should Keep In Mind When You Begin A Scrap Recycling Business

Collection Of Scrap Material

Scrap is the primary raw material for a scrap recycling business. Hence you will have to develop a network from which you can get a regular supply of metallic scrap. There are many sources from where you can get scrap metal. For instance, a ship-breaking yard is where old ships are broken down when they can no longer be used for transportation. The body of a ship consists of several kilograms of metal.

Thus if your scrap recycling business is close to a ship-breaking yard, that can be your source of scrap. Likewise, construction sites and automobile parts factories are good sources of scrap. Construction sites produce wood from window frames and doors, while girders and pillars produce steel.

Also, locating a construction site or an automobile parts factory is easier than finding a ship-breaking yard. Hence you can make a deal with the owners of construction and automobile parts factories to supply scrap for your business.

Sorting The Scrap

Scrap material needs appropriate segregation before any further processing can take place. If there is a collection of metallic scrap, it will contain metals like aluminum, iron, etc. Magnets can readily separate iron-containing metals from metallic scraps like copper or aluminum.

If the scrap is non-metallic, physical segregation using hands can also be used. Hand-based separation is a crude way of separation, and smaller units go for such techniques. In some places, passage through X-rays and infrared rays helps in the scrap sorting.

Transforming The Scrap Material

Once the material has been sorted properly, it needs to be transformed before it can be processed further. Metals like tin and aluminum are usually beaten into thin sheets and cut into smaller pieces. Alloys like steel are processed into small blocks. This transformation might increase the surface area of metals and help in the next steps of recycling.

Processing Through A Furnace

Recovery of metallic scrap requires passage through a furnace. A furnace produces exceptionally high temperatures in a closed chamber. There are several ways in which a furnace generates elevated temperatures. Some furnaces use electricity to create high temperatures. Other furnaces use natural gas to produce high temperatures.

The temperature to which the furnace is to be heated will depend upon the metal that is to be recovered. Every metal melts at a specific temperature. Thus, only those metals whose melting temperature has been reached will be retrieved, leaving out the other impurities.

Purifying And Selling The Recovered Material

Once the desired metal has been recovered, it is converted to a saleable form. The metal is transformed into a solid state and usually cut into blocks before selling them. You will have to look for industries that can use recycled metals. For instance, steel is a hard alloy. Steel also resists corrosion.

Hence, if the recovered product is stainless steel, it can be sold to several industries. Industries that produce construction parts, surgical tools, high temperature check valves, nuts, and bolts can buy recycled steel. Aluminum is highly resistant to corrosion, and it forms sheets very quickly. If the recycled metal is aluminum, it goes into the making parts for airplanes or automobile parts.

If you have recovered aluminum from your scrap, you should have an auto parts distributor list to sell the aluminum. If the recovered material is copper, the transport or the electrical industry buys it. The electrical sector demands copper because copper has good electrical properties like a high electrical conductivity.

Conclusion

Recycling material has gotten much public attention in the past few decades. Globally there has been a rise in people’s awareness levels about the state of the environment and its degradation. Also, there has been a growing consensus about the need to conserve the world’s natural resources.

Thus, recycling material has become an answer to solve the problems of depleting natural resources. If metals like iron, aluminum, copper, etc., continue to be exploited rampantly, then the earth will soon be exhausted of these valuable metals. Hence putting a check on the consumerist lifestyle and opting for recycled material is the way to a sustainable planet.