Metal recycling is a practice that has been around since World War II when resource conservation was necessary for supporting war efforts. However, since then, the metal recycling industry has grown to become a multi-billion dollar industry. Some reasons the metal recycling industry has grown include financial and environmental benefits. Below are some of the environmental benefits of metal recycling.

Metal Ores are a Non-Renewable Resource

Metals get extracted from mineral ores that exist in a finite amount in the Earth's crust. That means excessive mining of said mineral ores can result in an exhaustion of the resources. Thus, industries need to consider metal recycling services as an alternative source for buying metals instead of metal processed from virgin ores. Buying recycled scrap metal ensures mineral ores do not get unnecessarily extracted from the ground, thus conserving said resource for future use when demand increases. Metal recycling also saves other resources like energy. Scrap metal recycling services utilize a fraction of the energy an industrial-scale mining company uses to extract, process, and retinue mineral ores. 

Metal Extraction from Ores Pollutes the Environment

The mining industry is one of the biggest culprits concerning environmental pollution. Mineral ore extraction consumes a considerable amount of non-renewable energy from petroleum, coal, and natural gas to power the machines that dig through the Earth's crust. Such actions contribute to releasing greenhouse gasses that cause air pollution and hasten climate change. Mineral ores also contain toxic chemicals like mercury that can leach into the soil and groundwater sources, thus causing soil and water pollution. On the other hand, scrap metal recycling services are more energy-efficient as they do not use large amounts of energy, minimizing air pollution. They also prevent soil and water pollution by ensuring scrap metal does not accumulate in the environment. Metal recycling reduces environmental pollution, thus creating a healthier and more habitable world.

Mining Metal Ores Often Destroys Previously Arable Land and Disrupts the Ecosystem

The location of most mineral resources is in unspoiled areas like rainforests, woodlands, and lake and river basins that are home to numerous wild animals. The extraction of said resources spoils such environments, contributing to the dying off of animals or their relocation to human-inhabited areas that can cause human-animal conflict. However, investing in metal recycling services can prevent the transformation of natural environments into mining wastelands as they can help meet the demand for certain metals without the need for mineral extraction. Metal recycling also prevents scrap metal from ending up in landfills, thus preventing their expansion and the covering of surrounding lands with the waste. Overall, scrap metal recycling can help in land use management.

For more information, contact metal recycling services near you.