The most common type of scrap metal that the average person can find is aluminum or iron. Both of these are relatively easy to find and can accumulate quickly which means more money for the seller.
Recycling iron and steel makes good sense from an economic standpoint, and it's good for the environment, too. Reclaiming these materials instead of producing them from base ore reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 58 percent.
Some metal recyclers will accept single-stream or commingled recyclables that include metal, paper, glass, and plastic. Why? Single-stream systems make recycling easier for the waste producer, and new technologies can identify and sort waste more effectively.
Metal recycling is able to meet a good percentage of U.S. raw material needs (depending on the specific type of metal). In terms of nonferrous metals, recycling provides 43 percent of copper, 32 percent of aluminum, 55 percent of lead, and 19 percent of zinc.
Manufacturing products using recycled metals results in significant energy savings. For aluminum, energy savings can be as high as 95 percent; for copper, 85 percent; for lead, 65 percent; and for zinc, 60 percent.
Non-ferrous scrap, though it makes up a smaller quantity of scrap metal, is more valuable per pound. Non-ferrous scrap includes aluminum, copper, precious metals, lead, chromium, and other metals.