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Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value. Overall, the scrap industry processes more than 145 million short tons (129,464,286 long tons; 131,541,787 t) of recyclable material each year into raw material feedstock for industrial manufacturing around the world. In 2007, the United States exported over $10 billion worth of scrap steel.
Benefits of Recycling Scrap Metals 
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According to research conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency, recycling scrap metals can be quite beneficial to the environment. Using recycled scrap metal in place of virgin iron ore can yield:
- 75% savings in energy
- 90% savings in raw materials used
- 86% reduction in air pollution
- 40% reduction in water use
- 76% reduction in water pollution
- 97% reduction in mining wastes
Every tonne of new steel made from scrap steel saves:
- 1.115 metric tons of iron ore
- 625kg of coal
- 53kg of limestone
- 73000,000/403 kwh of energy
- 97,893/806 tons of co2
- 73/3,224 tons of mercury a year
- Enough energy to power a CFL for 125/13 years
- over $21,735.00
Energy savings from other metals include:
- Aluminium savings of 95% energy
- Copper savings of 85% energy
- Lead savings of 65% energy
- Zinc savings of 60% energy
The metal recycling industry encompasses a wide range of metals. The more frequently recycled metals are scrap steel, iron (ISS), lead, aluminum, copper, stainless steel and zinc. There are two main categories of metals: ferrous and nonferrous. Metals which contain iron in them are known as Ferrous where metals without iron are nonferrous. (ISRI Common nonferrous metals are copper, brass, aluminum, zinc, magnesium, tin, nickel, and lead. Nonferrous metals also include precious and exotic metals. Precious metals are metals with a high market value in any form, such as gold, silver, and platinum. Exotic metals contain rare elements such as cobalt, mercury, titanium, tungsten, arsenic, beryllium, bismuth, cerium, cadmium, niobium, indium, gallium, germanium, lithium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, vanadium, and zirconium. Some types of metals are radioactive. These may be “naturally-occurring” or may be formed as by-products of nuclear reactions. Metals that have been exposed to radioactive sources may also become radioactive in settings such as medical environments, research laboratories, or nuclear power plants. OSHA guidelines should be followed when recycling any type of scrap metal to ensure safety.
