While many of us are familiar with, and hopefully employ the use of, the recycling number guide to decrease our environmental waste, there is a surprising amount of materials that can be reused in the average home. One of the biggest of these, and one that can actually net you a bit of profit when recycled, are metals. There are two basic categories of commonly recycled metals, the ferrous and the non ferrous metals.
Ferrous is a term given to the kinds of metals that contain iron, including stainless and carbon steel. As a general rule, if s magnet is attracted to a metal, it is considered to be ferrous. Common household items that contain ferrous can include metal cans for pet food or fruits and vegetables, nails and screws, or pots and pans. In an industrial or construction setting, ferrous metals often make up building supports, some electrical wiring, tools and heavy duty equipment.
Non ferrous metals are ones not attracted to magnets, the most common of which are aluminum beverage cans. However, many other lightweight or malleable cooking implements are made of or plated with aluminum, such as stock pots and of course foil. Outside of general use, aluminum is also highly valued in construction, being lighter in weight than some other metals and some alloys being good conductors of electricity. Aluminum plates, tools, rods or wiring can all usually be recycled.
Due to the ease in which many metals, especially aluminum, can be recycled, some places will often offer to buy properly cleaned and sorted scrap metals. The more pure the metal it is he more valuable is it, so if you’re looking to sell your scraps try to avoid leaving waste such as dirt, paper labels, or other materials like glass or plastic attached to the metals. And, as always, check to see what your local recycling plants are willing to take and especially for more commercial uses if there are other, more specialized metal recycling plants in the area.
