Unlike King Midas, it is hard if not altogether impossible for you to have a gift of turning all you touch into gold. However, you can turn your trash into something valuable through recycling. Metal is currently used in almost all appliances. It is among the most recycled materials since it can be recycled multiple times without changing its properties.

According to data from the AISI {American Iron and Steel Institute}, steel is the most recycled metal. In 2019 in the U.S, about 69% of crude steel came from recycled materials. However, almost all types of metal can be recycled. Recycling allows manufacturers to lower their product ion costs and plays a crucial role in eco-conservation since it reduces mining. It also boosts the world economy by increasing jobs for the recyclers and other people involved in different processes.

Despite its well-known benefits, most people seeking the services of appliance disposal agencies to recycle appliances are residential clients. Businesses often leave their worn-out unusable equipment to rot away on their premises. This occupies valuable space that results in considerable amount of loss.

When you choose to recycle your unusable appliances, here are the steps of the metal’s recycling process before it is reused in other products.

1. Collection

The metal recycling process starts with collecting the appliances that are not being used in residential and commercial properties. If you live in Sonoma, you do not have to trouble yourself carrying out your junk metal. You can leave this often dangerous task to a hauling company with well-trained and equipped professionals.

There are two types of metal collected for recycling; ferrous and non-ferrous. The ferrous metals combine carbon with iron. They include; alloy steel, cast iron, wrought iron and carbon steel. Non-ferrous metals include; tin, zinc, copper, aluminum and lead. Precious metals like palladium, iridium, platinum, gold and silver are also non-ferrous.

In the U.S, scrap vehicles are the primary sources of scrap ferrous metals, so do not leave yours wasting away in the garage. Junk hauling companies have specialized vehicles for transporting metals to scrap metal yards. These vehicles ensure the metals do not cause any injuries or damage to other items. Transporting your junk appliances in your car might leave it with rust stains and scratch its paintwork or upholstery.

2. Sorting

After getting the metal from your property, it is sorted at a scrap metal yard. The sorting involves separation into what can and cannot be recycled. Anything that is unrecyclable is transported by the appliance disposal company you hire to a dumpsite. You can only get quality recycled metallic products when the original materials are of optimal quality. As such, the sorting process is rigorous.

Most recycling centers accept materials that are not less than 50% metal. This means that even appliances surrounded by plastic can be recycled when they have a high metal content. The metal is separated using a magnet that picks out ferrous metals because they contain iron. In large recycling facilities, sensors using x-rays and infra-red scanning are used to separate non-ferrous and ferrous metals. These techniques are often used to separate precious metals.

Non-ferrous metals are often more expensive than ferrous ones. However, the exact price a recycling center will offer depends on market conditions and other elements. Hot air is blown onto the materials to be recycled to eliminate non-metallic components like plastic paper and paint. The hot air is about 550 degrees Celsius and sucks up all non-metallic elements much like a vacuum.

3. Processing and shredding

After sorting the metal, it is compacted or squeezed to minimize the space it occupies. This allows the easy transportation of the metal to another facility or its easy fit into a conveyor belt. After compaction, the metal is shredded to break it into tiny fragments that will easily melt in the next stage.

Other than the easy melting, shredded metal takes less time and energy in the furnace compared to large components. In most instances, aluminum is changed to aluminum sheets while steel transforms to steel blocks after shredding.

4. Melting

The shredded metal will then be fed into a furnace for melting. There are different furnace types with varying temperature ranges for melting different metal types. The melting process takes minutes to hours depending on the metal volume in the furnace and the metal type.

The melting procedure consumes a lot of energy but not as much as it would cost to process or mine new metals. Moreover, most recycling plants have fuel-efficient regenerative burners for melting. These reduce the energy amount used for the process so they have minimal effect on the environment.

5. Purification

After melting, the molten metal is purified to eliminate any imperfections that might affect the quality of materials manufactured using recycled metals. Any flaws will also drastically reduce the inherent properties of the metal.

Though there are several methods used for purifying metals, the most common one is electrolysis. In this, an electrochemical reaction following the introduction of a direct current in the molten metal separates impurities. In some cases, recyclers pass powerful magnets over the molten metal to pick any impurities. Nowadays, there are several purification techniques used for different metal types to ease the process.

6. Solidifying 

Purified metal is solidified by being placed through a conveyor belt where it cools. Sometimes, density-increasing chemicals are added to boost the solidification process and introduce some properties to the metal. In purification, recycled scrap metal is formed into different shapes and sizes that are easily used to produce new products.

After solidification, the metals are ready to use as raw materials for new products and are thus transported to manufacturing plants. The best news is that once the new appliances reach the end of their useful lives, they can again undergo the recycling process to be reused in new products.

Most businesses in Marin and other areas now focus on ways of cutting back on their costs. Some managers might thus assume that hauling appliances to a recycling plant or dumpsite using their company vehicles is a good way of saving on costs. Though this might initially seem so, moving your broken-down unusable appliances places the inexperienced people who carry them at risk of injuries. This means costly medical expenses and sometimes  lawsuits. Furthermore, you might part with the high repair costs for the vehicles used for transporting the appliances.

A junk removal company that offers appliance disposal services is your best choice. It has specialized equipment for safely carrying out your heavy appliances without damaging your premises or hurting anyone. Furthermore, the employees are insured and skilled in handling the disposal of the appliances. As such, the money spent on a junk disposal company is worth it.

Junk King Marin is the best choice for hauling recyclable metal from your business premises. The company offers the most competitive rates in Marin for its services. It will send people to your company a few minutes after your call to assess the junk and give you a cost estimate for the hauling services. Junk King is a green waste removal company. Therefore, the best one to partner with for recycling the appliances you no longer use. Contact us for more information.