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Metal recycling is a growing component of businesses everywhere, with environmental, financial, and societal benefits. However, people often get tripped up on what counts for metal recycling. This is a common point of confusion for many, even though it is a highly integrated component of our daily lives. Business owners and professionals looking to understand and benefit from metal recycling, keep reading!

Why Metal Recycling Matters

Nearly every major industry relies on metal, but many people forget that our planet has limited resources and that extracting them carries a heavy cost. Metal recycling helps reuse what we have already made. This boosts the local economy by creating jobs, reduces environmental damage, and helps protect resources for future generations. For example, the National Institutes of Health reported, “Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates 1 job, while landfilling the same amount creates 6 jobs. Recycling the same 10,000 tons creates 36 jobs!”

Ferrous vs. Non-Ferrous Metals

When it comes to metal recycling, you must know the difference between ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Ferrous metals contain iron, making them magnetic and prone to rusting. Examples could be steel or cast iron.

Non-ferrous metals contain no iron, making them rust-resistant and often more valuable. This includes copper, aluminum, brass, stainless steel, lead, and zinc.

While you can recycle both metal types, ferrous metals often face limitations that vary depending on your city or recycling center.

What Metal Recycling Can I Do as a Business Owner?

As a business owner, you often come in contact with more metals than you probably realize. Construction, electrical, HVAC, automotive, and manufacturing industries often generate obvious recyclable metal waste. This includes items like copper wire, aluminum siding, plumbing parts, A/C coils, metal shavings, and brass fixtures.

However, other industries produce metal recycling waste that they often don’t even realize has potential for it. For example, industrial kitchens can recycle old cookware, landscape companies can recycle torn-down metal fences, sign markers can recycle sheet metal scraps, retail stores can recycle broken shelving, and so much more. Even if the volume isn’t massive, these materials can add up over time, and since many are non-ferrous, they hold good value when appropriately recycled.

How Metal Recycling Benefits You

Metal recycling is an all-around good choice for your business. Not only is it an environmental responsibility that meets societal standards and can be used for good PR, but it pays!

At Community Recycling, we offer cash for non-ferrous metals based on national average pricing. By bringing in your metal recycling, you can help your business to reduce disposal costs and earn money back – a double win!

What We Accept at Community Recycling

At Community Recycling, we specialize in non-ferrous metals, including aluminum, copper, brass, stainless steel, and mixed metals. There is no minimum required—whether it’s a small batch or a large load, we’re here to help!

For a complete list of metal items we accept, click HERE to learn more or give us a call for current pricing. Prices for each item vary daily depending on market changes based on national averages, so our prices fluctuate each day to reflect these costs. If you have any questions, we are more than happy to run you through it!