While, collectively, the UK recycle more of our waste material than ever before, it is only logical that we should also consider what items we are throwing away that are made of metal, and of those which are recyclable. Scrap metal generally falls into two categories, these being ferrous and nonferrous metals. Any metal or alloy which contains iron will fall into the category of ferrous metals, while other metals like copper and lead, which contain no iron, will come under the nonferrous category.
Many of the things we throw away at the end of their useful life contain useful and highly recyclable scrap metal. Things like washing machines, cookers, certain furniture, garden equipment and old bikes. Not only should we be recycling these items for the general good of the environment, but often any old scrap metal which has to be disposed of can be worth some money.
I mentioned the 2 categories that scrap metal falls under in order that I can now explain the differences between these 2 when it comes to selling any scrap metal. Things like scrap copper, scrap lead, and scrap wire are going to come under the nonferrous category because no iron is contained in these metals. A much higher price per metric tonne is paid for this type of metal. Things like the washing machines and home goods that I just spoke about will come under the ferrous category, and be worth much less money. In terms of disposing of these sorts of things, ringing someone up asking them to take it away as rubbish costs money and wastes a valuable resource. In every area, there are scrap dealers who earn a living recycling these sorts of things. This has a few clear benefits; Waste metal is taken away at no cost to householders, scrap dealers are able to recycle the metal for the general environmental good, and landfill is not being filled with highly recyclable material that we all need.
When people have certain jobs done at home, no matter whether you live in Bristol or elsewhere, there can be a lot of scrap copper, scrap lead or scrap wire left over. The prudent thing would be to take this to a scrap dealer and find out what the best price is that can be achieved for that metal. Prices do go up and down on a daily basis, and scrap dealers need to buy at the prevailing price. You don’t need to have a tonne to sell either – In fact, a small black bag of copper can sometimes achieve a pretty sum, depending on the prices.
We all benefit by having a think every time we dispose of something from our homes and offices. Metal, worldwide, of every type, is a finite material. By using it and recycling it when we are finished, we are doing our bit to make sure that we don’t waste any more of this precious resource than we absolutely need to.