It’s 2020. A new year. A fresh start. Revitalized thinking. Forward progression.
With new years come new resolutions, or a rehashing of resolutions you’ve made in the past but have failed to put into action. Also with new years come the annual business checks and balances and the notion of looking at new ways to generate revenue.
Why not recycling?
Recycling is not generally on most peoples’ radar when they put resolutions to paper (or at least to thought). That said, it should be. Especially if you’re managing a manufacturing facility and are dealing with a lot of post- production “scrap.” We’re sure you’ve thought about it, but now is the time to put it to action. Recycling is by no way a new, trending topic (though it is always trending…). But as we keep hearing more and more about how we need to “change our ways” in order to salvage the prosperity of the world we live in (earth), it’s coming more and more to a head that things need to change. That means all of us. From the “waste” we create at home, to our place of work…
Let’s cut to the chase.
As it pertains to the manufacturing industry, recycling is a quick, serious revenue stream.
Cash = a more vibrant, and bolstered environment in your shop to help facilitate growth and advancement opportunities.
Why scrap the bi-product of your manufacturing processes when you can recycle it and get paid for the effort? It’s a win-win. This isn’t revolutionary thinking (we’re aware) – there are just certain ideas that warrant a reminder. This is one of them.
BENEFITS OF RECYCLING SCRAP METAL:
You get paid, thus, you’ve engaged an additional revenue stream for the company.
You save natural resources, thus doing your part in “going green” to strengthen the literal environment.
You’ve enabled the opportunity to purchase newly processed, raw product from recycled scrap – thus reducing costs from the vantage point of mining, processing resources, etc.
Riffing on that last bullet for a second, it’s estimated that over 80% of iron and steel used in foundries has been forged from recycled scrap. Utilizing this recycled steel requires an astounding 56% less energy than producing the same raw product by means of mining iron ore, and, while we’re at it, it reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 58%.
WHAT KIND OF SCRAP ARE WE TALKING HERE?
By-and-large, scrap metal is separated into two general categories: ferrous and non-ferrous.
Ferrous alloys of note contain:
- Iron
- Steel
- Malleable iron
- Gray iron
Ferrous alloys are magnetic, thus making for a somewhat obvious character trait during the sorting process…
Non-ferrous alloys of note include:
- Aluminum
- Copper
Non-ferrous alloys are – you guessed it – not magnetic in nature.
FUN FACTS:
The United States alone processes more than 250 billion lbs. of scrap material a year.
Copper, which has been used by humans for more than 10,000 years, is the most widely recycled material on the planet. Copper or any of its alloys (such as brass or bronze), is used processed and utilized repeatedly in manufacturing due to its in nite recyclable life.
The most recycled material globally is steel. So much so, that steel in its entirety is recycled more than all other materials combined. Much like copper, the uncompromising metallurgical properties of steel allow it to be recycled and used in manufacturing processes over and over again with no degradation in performance.
WHY RECYCLING SCRAP MATTERS
On the surface, we’ve already mentioned that setting up a scrap recycling resolution plan in your shop helps you achieve “green” status from both the wallet and environment vantage points, but consider the following which was recently reported by the Institute for Scrap Metal Recycling:
- Nearly 500,000 jobs have been created by the industry
- Scrap metal recycling companies grossed more than
- $10 billion in economic development
- Across all 50 states, the industry generated about $90 billion in economic activity
- When U.S. recycling (across the board) levels reach 75 percent, it will be the environmental and CO2 equivalent of discarding 55 million vehicles from the roads each year, plus an accumulation of 1.5 million new jobs across the country
Let’s wind this down. We’ll end it with a series of open- ended questions and then send you o with a well wish:
What are you doing to increase easily attainable revenues in your manufacturing facility this year?
Is the recycling of scrap metal such as EDM wire, ferrous/ nonferrous chips, punchings, turnings, borings, skeletons, inserts, bits, and really any malleable byproduct that can be compacted a part of your new year’s business resolution?
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2020 – let’s make it a prosperous one! Don’t sweep that scrap into the dumpster, get it prepped for recycling and bask in all the glory of doing good by the environment and your bottom line!
