Fun facts about metal recycling that will surprise and amaze you! From ancient Egyptian copper plumbing to the amount of steel your average city bus contains, we explore the wonders of metal and the marvels of facts about recycling it.
Facts About Recycling
Copper
- Facts About Recycling nearly 5,000 years, copper was the only metal known to man.
- It was first used by humans more than 10,000 years ago. A copper pendant discovered in what is now northern Iraq has been dated about 8700 B.C.
- Copper’s recycling rate is higher than that of any other engineering metal. In fact, it is possible that we could still be using the same metal in our pennies and electrical wiring that was used by the pharaohs in ancient Egyptian plumbing. Whoa!
- Copper’s recycling value is so great that premium-grade scrap normally has at least 95% of the value of the primary metal from newly mined ore.
- Copper is used to making alloys, brass and bronze.
Source: Copper Development Association Inc.
Aluminium
- Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours.
- An aluminium can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now.
- There is no limit to the amount of times aluminum cans be recycled.
- At one time, aluminum was more valuable than gold!
- Aluminium is the most common metallic element on earth, making up about 8% of the earth’s crust.
Source: Time to Recycle, Planet Ark
Steel
- An average city bus contains 75,000 cans worth of steel.
- In Australia, steel makes up about 2.5 percent of the waste that goes to landfills.
- Making new steel from recycled cans uses 75 percent less energy than making steel from raw materials.
- 21% of all steel consumed in Australia is used in engineering construction.
- The average Australian consumes 6 kilograms worth of steel drink cans annually.
Source: Waste Authority, Clean Up Australia
Lead
- More than 98 percent of all battery lead is recycled, compared to 58% of aluminium soft drink and beer cans, 63% of paper, 41% of glass bottles and 85% of tires.
- Lead-acid batteries top the list of the most highly recycled consumer product.
- Lead has one of the highest recycling rates in the world, higher even than better known recycled items such as glass or newspaper.
- Lead can be recycled indefinitely without any reduction in quality.
- In 2013, global secondary (i.e. recycled) lead production accounted for 54% of total lead production.
Source: Doe Run, International Lead Association
Interested in recycling your scrap metal? Contact Metal Biz Recyclers today to find out how you could turn your scrap metal into cash!
Last updated on September 28th, 2023 at 06:31 am