METAL
RECYCLING:
A WIN FOR BUSINESS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The recycling of scrap metal helps cut greenhouse gas emissions,
saves energy and protects the depletion of our natural resources.
Producing steel products from recycled scrap metal requires significantly
less energy than producing them from virgin ores.
Scrap metal is a reusable resource. Unlike most other recyclables, scrap
metals have an almost never-ending life cycle that allows them to be recycled
over and over again.
Recycling scrap metals also helps protect landfills. By preventing metals from
ending up in landfills, a useful material that can earn our country export dollars
is recovered and the amount of toxic metal components leaching into the soil
is greatly reduced.
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FACTS AND FIGURES:
• Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely,
as reprocessing does not
damage its structure. Aluminium is
also the most cost-effective material
to recycle
• Recycling 1kg of aluminium saves
up to 6kg of bauxite, 4kg of
chemical products, and 14 kWh of
electricity - enough to power a TV
for three hours
• Every tonne of steel that is recycled
saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and
reduces air emissions by 86%
• Steel scrap is essential in the
process of making new steel and can
be recycled indefinitely without losing
its quality. Most new steel products
use at least 25% recycled steel in
their production
• Scrap metal recycling is the oldest
form of recycling
• Scrap metal is currently New
Zealand's 23rd largest export
earner (as at 2018 - earning $425
million annually)
• New Zealand scrap metal is
exported to countries all around
the world
• Recycling scrap metal has many
environmental benefits and diverts
material from landfills (we divert
740,000 tonnes of metals annually
from NZ's landfills)
• Almost all metal products (not just
aluminium cans) can be recycled
in some way
*Source: SCRAP METAL
RECYCLING ASSOCIATION OF
NEW ZEALAND, INC
/www.engineeringnews.co.nz