Created to help recognise and celebrate the important part recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet, the 18 of March is Global Recycling Day (GRD).
GRD was established in 2018 and the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) is celebrating its five-year landmark with the release of an A-Z highlighting the wide-ranging benefits recycling offers and metals’ limitless potential.
Antonia Grey, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the BMRA says: “From aluminium to zinc, showcasing metal is the perfect way to mark Global Recycling Day. It is one of only a few permanent raw materials created from recycling, and it can be recycled time and time again.”
“BMRA is proud to be one of the founding supporters of Global Recycling Day, and we are celebrating metals’ limitless potential by asking people to post a video on social media about what they would like their metal to be in its next life.”
Let the BMRA know what you want your metal to be in its next life on social media using the hashtags #metalgoals and #GRD2023.
The mission of Global Recycling Day, as set out by the Global Recycling Foundation, is to tell world leaders that recycling is simply too important not to be a global issue, and that a common, joined up approach to recycling is urgently needed. It also aims to ask people across the planet to think of resources, not waste, when it comes to the goods around us. Recycling is a key part of the circular economy, helping to protect natural resources. Each year the ‘Seventh Resource’ (recyclables) saves over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions, and this is projected to increase to 1 billion tons by 2030.
Here is the BMRA’s A-Z of why this issue matters so much.
Metal recycling A to Z
Aluminium - Recycling aluminium uses 95% less energy than producing aluminium from mined bauxite. Recycling one tonne saves 14,000 kWh of energy - enough to meet the energy needs of an average UK home.
Batteries – When tampered with, destroyed or in any way pierced or broken, a lithium/lithium-ion battery can explode, cause a fire, even electrocution. They pose a huge risk to people and places, which is why it is important they are not put in general waste, kerbside recycling boxes or bins or scrap loads. They can be recycled, but separately.
Copper – 60% of copper produced since the 1900s is still in use today. It is a non-ferrous metal and is not magnetic. Copper is used in households to conduct electricity as well as in plumbing applications due to it being highly non-corrosive and non-toxic.
Design – Innovative product design for metal recycling machinery such as balers, shredders and separation equipment means that preparing, processing as well as extracting metal from other materials for recycling is becoming more and more efficient, meaning even more metal being recycled.
Elements- 75% of all the known chemical elements are categorised as metals. Because it comes from the earth, it is critical metal is recycled to protect and sustain natural habitats.
Forever - Metal is 100% recyclable, it is permanent, and it can be recycled forever, over and over again. It contributes to the circular economy, avoiding sending a permanent material to landfill.
Gold – Gold is a noble metal. It is relatively unreactive and resists degradation by air, moisture, or acidic conditions. Did you know, one tonne of mobile phones contains as much gold as 70 tonnes of gold ore.
Hot cutting – The use of extreme heat for procedures like hot-cutting helps to process metal so that it is ready for a foundry to be melted down and made into something for its next life.
Iron – Iron is what is known as a ferrous metal. It is strong, durable, and used to make steel – an alloy of iron and carbon. It is easy to separate it from other metals because it is magnetic.
Journey - As the UK produces considerably more scrap than is required for domestic markets, 80 percent is exported worldwide. In fact, the UK is one of the five largest metal scrap exporting countries in the world and is a key contributor to the UK economy.
Kilotonne - Metal recyclers process over 11,000 kilotonnes of ferrous and non-ferrous metal annually. Metals recycling is a pyramid industry which includes many small, family-owned companies, as well as large, international businesses. Activities include collecting, sorting, shearing, baling, shredding, media separation, as well as re-use, casting, and fabrication. A wide range of products are recycled, such as end-of-life vehicles, packaging, batteries, domestic appliances, building materials and electronic goods.
Limitless potential - Because it can be recycled time and time again, metal has limitless potential. Window frames could become a plane. A bridge could become a bicycle. Your brass door handle could become a trumpet. And then, they could all become something else!
Materials – Raw materials from recycling, such as metal, emits 80% less CO2 than metal produced from virgin ore mined to make brand new metals.
Nickel - 57% of all mined nickel is still in use and global nickel-related CO emissions are reduced by one third thanks to nickel recycling.
Olympic medals. Did you know that Japan’s 2020 Olympic medals were made from metal from recycled mobile phones, digital cameras, handheld games and laptops. The 5,000 medals used 30.3kg of gold, 4,100kg of silver and 2,700kg of bronze.
Production – using a blast furnace for steel production typically uses 15%-25% steel scrap with the rest made up of mined product. An Electric Arc Furnace can use up to 100% scrap metal to produce new steel.
Quality – Most metals can be recycled time and time again without any loss of quality, meaning that recycling metal is a long-term sustainable alternative to mining.
Rhodium – Rhodium is one of the metals found in a catalytic converter. While only a few grams are needed, it is key to helping a car reduce its emissions. When recycled correctly it can go back into a new catalytic converter to help reduce more car emissions.
Steelmaking - Every tonne of recycled steel saves:
- 1.5 tonnes of iron ore
- 0.5 tonnes of coal
- 70% of the energy
- 40% of the water
- 75% of CO2 emissions
- 0.97 tonnes of CO2
Tin cans – Steel cans are made from tin-coated steel, which is where they get the name tin cans from. They are one of the metal items that you can put in a kerbside recycling collection. Lots of different foods are now canned and it is great way to keep food preserved, sometimes for years. Recycling one tonne of tin saves 99% of the energy required for the primary production of tin.
Uses – Metal is plentiful and found everywhere. Metal is used in many everyday applications – to protect the food you eat, to build the bridge you walk over, the bike you ride, the mobile phone you use. Let’s make sure we get as much back into the circular economy by making sure we put the right material in the correct waste stream.
Value - Scrap metal has a value. You can be paid for it by a licenced dealer. Depending on the set-up it can be via BACS, cheque or etransfer. Watch out, paying cash for scrap is illegal and if you are offered it you need to report it.
WEEE - Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (known as WEEE) generally covers products that have a plug or need a battery, such as fridges, vacuum cleaners, and computer equipment. Although some WEEE can be made mostly of plastic, it often also contains metal and has its own recycling stream.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) a key tool for the metal recycler to enable them to identify different alloys and metals. The ability to sort metals and alloys into different grades ensures that the correct grades are recycled together into new metals.
Yards – Metal can either be taken to a specialist metal recycler, collected from your house, or taken to a council-run Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC). Scrap metal recycling is a heavily regulated industry, so make sure the company or person you use has the appropriate licences in place, including a Scrap Metal Dealers Licence and a Waste Carriers Licence.
Zero –Metal recycling, like all economic sectors in the UK is looking to decarbonise to meet the UK Governments 2050 net zero target. Already key to reducing emissions through the recycling of metal, the industry is also investigating yet more ways it can decarbonise its operations.