(ThyBlackMan.com) The importance of metal recycling is something many of us are generally familiar with but still fail to fully understand and truly appreciate. We take it for granted, treating the concept with little more than a passing interest. This very same concept, however, has actually affected us in more ways than one, and the businesses that surround the industry have done a great deal not just for profit and gain, but also for the protection and longevity of the environment and its natural resources.
Resource Management
The mining and refining of ore into metal that can be used isn’t as sustainable as you may think, and the process that goes into it actually has a significantly negative effect on the environment. Not only are the ores a finite resource, but the activity that goes into extracting the materials tends to involve deforestation and the
significant alteration of what was once untouched landscape. By recycling metals, however, mining can become unnecessary and can be avoided since it provides an efficient way to renew and re-purpose these materials for future use without having to mine more natural resources. This keeps the environment and its resources safe.
Lack of Landfills
Landfill sites are another topic often associated with waste and metal disposal. The fact of the matter is, these despoiled sites are an environmental safety hazard because they can emit a great number of harmful chemical gases and perhaps even have toxic materials leaching into the soil. Dumping of metals in landfills can become unnecessary if metal recycling is practiced. There are a great number of businesses like the scrap yards Dudley offers that provide recycling services so that discarding and disposing of these materials in landfill sites can be avoided.
No Pollution
Preventing pollution has always been the aim of recycling, even from the environmental movement’s infancy, and the recycling of metal and steel achieves this in a number of ways. Importation and exportation of steel for trade, as an example, contributes greatly to air pollution since it requires fuel for the goods to be delivered. With metal being re-purposed and reused through recycling, the need for this is greatly reduced, thus reducing the polluting effects of transportation. Mining, as discussed earlier, also contributes a great deal of greenhouse gases that can be completely avoided by simply recycling.
These benefits go to show just how important the metal recycling industry has been and continues to be. Being such an important commodity, metal is a material that can be re-purposed and reused, and it goes a long way to enhancing our safety and that of the environment.
Staff Writer; Carl Love