Safety Guidelines To Keep In Mind While Scrapping
Safety is a primary concern wherever you work, but even more so when collecting scrap for recycling. This holds true even if you don’t plan on taking it up as a full-time job. You will have to lift heavy stuff and handle sharp objects and edges. Not to mention you need to keep watch of those around you and be careful not to injure bystanders or damage properties.
Dress For The Job
As a rule, you want to expose as little of your skin as possible. Don’t go out there wearing shorts, flipflops, and a sando. Save that for the beach. Instead, wear puncture-resistant long-sleeves and pants to minimize the risk of cutting yourself.
Throw in a pair of quality work boots for good measure. You want ones that are comfortable and have alloy safety toes for lightweight protection against heavy debris.
Aside from your skin, you also want to shield your eyes and head from the elements so wear eye goggles and a helmet. Oh! And keep those hands safe from scrapes with a pair of leather work gloves.
Bring A First-Aid Kit
Accidents can still happen even if you’re wearing the finest protective gear you can afford. So be smart and bring a first aid kit. The kit should contain the usual bandaids and bandages plus more including:
- Tweezers for pulling out splinters
- Topical antibiotic for wounds
- A bottle of water
- Pain relievers (works great for backaches, too)
- Anti-allergy medicine like antihistamines
Don’t forget to bring a cellphone, too. In case of a serious injury, having one lets you call for help quickly. Better still, have the emergency services or a relative on speed dial so you won’t have to fumble for the right phone number.
Have The Right Equipment For The Job
In your search for valuable metal scraps, you may need to climb high places, bring down heavy stuff from the roof, or demolish parts of an old abandoned house. Whatever you need to do, make sure you have the right equipment for the job, whether it’s a ladder, a sledgehammer, or a long rope.
Speaking of ropes, you want to bring more of those.
You will need ropes or chains for keeping your metals in place, especially when you’re on the go. Doing so helps prevent injuring people or damaging cars right behind you. Securing your scrap can also deter thieves – or give them a hard time at least (more on this later).
The Benefits Of Recycling Scrap Metal
Reduces The Need For Mining
Mining is invasive. To extract raw materials from the earth, mining companies employ heavy excavators, haul trucks, and men with shovels to dig into the ground. This rabid digging not only destroys the soil but it also releases toxic compounds, radioactive rocks, metallic dust, and asbestos-like minerals into the air and water.
The harsh environmental impacts of mining are many. The list includes:
- Sinkhole formation
- Soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination
- Hazardous byproducts, including wastewater
- Destruction of wildlife habitat
- And the loss of biodiversity, to name a few
The impact extends far wider than the mining site itself and continues decades after the mining activity is done.
On the other hand, shutting down mining can prove devastating, too. It’s a global $496-billion-industry, with the livelihood of millions depending on it. Moreover, sectors around the world – especially high-tech industries – rely on metals and rare earths to survive.
While banishing mining is impossible, reducing the need for it is within reach. Recycling scrap metal is a step in the right direction. If the world recycles enough scrap metal, the demand for virgin materials will decrease, and mining activity will follow.
However, we’re still miles away from that goal.
The Recycling Rates of Metals: A Status Report from the International Resource Panel found that the recycling rate for metals is low. On paper, recovering metals over and over again is more than doable. Yet less than 33% of the 60 metals included in the report have over 50% recycling rate, with about another third having less than 1% recycling rate.
Conserve Energy And Natural Resources
Plants need to process newly extracted materials and metals before they’re market-ready, which puts additional strain on our environment. Repurposing scrap metal into new products requires significantly fewer natural resources and less energy.
For example, recycling a ton of steel conserves 2,500 lbs of iron ore, 1,400 lbs of coal, and 120 lbs of limestone, says the American Iron and Steel Institute. Not to mention it saves enough electricity to power 18 million households for a year.
On the other hand, recovering a ton of aluminum cans saves 21,000-kilowatt hours. Recycling reduces the need to mine virgin bauxite, leading to 95% energy savings.
Boosts The Country’s Economy (And Yours Too)
While not as massive as the mining industry, recycling scrap metal is a potent booster for the economy. In the US, the metal recycling industry generated over $64 billion in 2020 and recovered $40 billion worth of nonferrous metals like aluminum, copper, and lead.
Remember. We are yet to recycle enough. If we can bump up the recovery rates for different metals, the economic advantages will also grow. The financial incentives afforded by metal recycling can extend to you, too.
Find a Local Scrap Metal Yard and Get Started!
Without local scrap yards, scrap metal recyclers would have nowhere to take their junk to and exchange it for cash. Compile a list of metal scrap yards in your area. Start by looking at your state government website. Chances are, you’ll find a directory of recycling locations and scrap buyers, which you can narrow down.
On the other hand, you can also use tools like the iScrap App. This lists current metal prices, scrap yards, and metal recyclers in the US and Canada. You can also use an online nationwide directory like Earth911 to aid you in your search.
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