What Types of Metals Can Be Recycled?
What metals are recyclable in the UK?
Recycling has become part of our everyday lives. Most of us have recycling bins and wheelie bins that we fill up with metal among other materials on a weekly basis. Along with weekly household recycling collections, there are recycling centres up and down the country that take in larger quantities of metal, scrap metal, and metal packaging.
In the UK, we have a thriving recycling industry that is moving closer to a Circular Economy of carbon reduction and a greener future. The recycling industry deals with the processes of recycling metals. Scotland’s Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) regulates waste management in Scotland. In Wales, the Welsh government is responsible for waste management and the Environmental agency regulates the metal recycling industry in England.
The UK offers recycling of various metals including:
- Ferrous metals such as iron and steel.
- Non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, copper, brass, lead and zinc.
- Precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum (though it is recommended for precious metals to double-check they hold no monetary or sentimental value).
What metals are not recyclable?
Few metals are un-recyclable; however, some restrictions do apply to metal recycling. Restrictions apply to certain metal recycling as a means to protect the environment. The most obvious metals are those with radioactive properties e.g. uranium and plutonium. Fortunately, these types of metals are not common in households, however metals containing mercury and lead are often found in some houses.
Precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum are often found in households in the form of jewellery, watches, cutlery, kitchenware, picture frames, lighters and coins. When clearing out your home for metal recycling, you should pay close attention to these types of metals as they may be worth money or have sentimental value.
What is the process for metal recycling?
Most metals that are meet the requirements for recycling are usually sorted into two groups: ferrous and non-ferrous. To determine what type of metal you have will depend on if its magnetic or not. For example, iron (ferrous) is magnetic, whereas copper (non-ferrous) is not.
Non-ferrous metals can be recycled repeatedly without losing any of its chemical properties and the recycling process won’t weaken it. Ferrous metals need a far more extensive recycling process that involves melting, refining and then compacting into an ingot form.
What about large scrap metals like cars?
A large source of scrap metal in the UK is from cars. Cars are often designed using lots of metals in the bodywork, interior and engine bays. End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive Regulates the recycling of vehicles in the EU, including the UK. Should a car fit the criteria to be scrapped, there are specialised metal recycling companies like us here at Williams Metals Recycling. We provide car collections for scrap metal recycling across the Wiltshire area.
Call Us Today!
We collect just about anything that is metal across the Wiltshire area including Tidworth, Pewsey, Andover and Marlborough. To give you an idea, we’ll take scrap metal, collect cars, site cleared metals and other recyclable metals. For over 35 years, Williams Metal Recycling has been offering a superb scrap metal service. As a family run team, we take pride in our expertise and experience and strive to give you the best possible prices for your scrap metal.
If you’d like to make sure we can remove and recycle your scrap metal be that a car or otherwise, contact us today with the details