Scrap aluminium is one of Australia's most common waste products. Scrap metal -- much of it aluminium -- makes up around 14% of the waste collected each Clean Up Australia Day. It doesn't need to be this way: recycling aluminium can help preserve natural resources, save energy and even make you some money. 

Environmental benefits

Aluminium is an excellent material for recycling; products made from recycled aluminium are identical to their new counterparts but take 95% less energy to produce. This cuts down on harmful carbon emissions and helps slow the depletion of the planet's mineral resources as well as saving space in landfills. Since Australia uses around 450,000 tonnes of aluminium every year, recycling aluminium can make a big difference. 

Types of aluminium scrap

There are many different types of aluminium scrap metal, but they broadly fall into two main categories. Some scrap is manufacturing waste: for example, the offcuts created when making an item out of aluminium sheet fall into this category. Companies can collect this kind of new scrap and arrange collection directly with a recycler. By contrast, post-consumer scrap includes items such as drink cans, electrical cabling, car parts, window frames and more. These items can include different types of aluminium, including both bare metal and coated or painted metal. 

Processing

Whether you're recycling scrap aluminium from a manufacturing process or aluminium gathered from waste disposal, the process is the same: you can either deliver your scrap to your recycling firm or arrange for collection. The recycler will buy the scrap metal from you. Metal prices can fluctuate significantly based on the demands of the international market, so the amount you receive might not always be consistent, although this will depend on your agreement with the recycling firm. 

Once the recycler has the scrap, the work begins. It must be sorted to remove all non-aluminium waste, which could lower the quality of the finished product. The sorting process will also divide it into different types of metal; for instance, coated and uncoated aluminium will be treated differently. The metal is then crushed, compacting it into space-efficient bales. The resulting bales are either simply melted and formed into ingots or, in the case of coated aluminium, stripped of their coatings before being remelted. The resulting ingots are ready to be turned into any of the vast range of aluminium products -- and all without the waste and expense of new mining. 

Collecting empty tins or manufacturing offcuts might seem like a small thing, but by reducing demand on natural resources and saving energy, it supports the transition to a circular economy, saves money and helps keep Australia's landscape free of waste. Reach out to a place like Metal Merchants for more info on aluminum scrap.