Green Metals

8/3/2019 Green Metals

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Green Metals, Inc. is a new kind of scrap metal recycling and waste handling company with a

business model that is truly revolutionary in the industry.

Through state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, technology, procedures, and the collective knowledgeof our team members, GMI meets the scrap disposal needs of all its customers and the ecological

needs of the environment.

What Makes Green Metals Unique?

With a customized processing facility all operating under roof, fully constructed concrete flooring

and retention/disposal beds and bays, Green Metals, Inc. ensures that recycled scrap metal products

and planet never meet. Plus, all aspects of operation follow accepted ISO 14001 guidelines.

GMI's detailed analysis of individual scrap generators enables the company to develop and

implement tailored scrap recycling programs that ensures customers competitive pricing, prompt

service, and maximum environmental protection.

GMI can process and market both ferrous and non-ferrous metals based on strategically aligned

relationships throughout the industry. And the use of modern equipment minimizes the need for

expensive, non-productive traditional scrap metal handling methods.

GMI's Non-Metallic Division can also handle hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated by our

customers. With the training and experience of our team members, customers can be assured that

their waste is managed according to regulatory and ISO 14001 requirements

Green Innovations in the Metals Industry: Part One

by admin on February 5, 2008

Theres an age-old adage that one thing is constant and its change. No, Im not leading into politics

and the 2008 presidential election in the States. Rather, lets think beyond Super Tuesday and look


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to the metals industry. With all of the metals industrys longstanding practices, are there really ways

for metals and metals-related processes and purchases to become eco-friendly? Rest easy, because

the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, the metals industry is the vibrant host to several new

ecologically aware innovations, and they might be the key to sustainable growth and development.

The buzz words are green and lean. Not only is the U.S. becoming the richest scrap resource in the

world, but eco-friendly government regulations in several nations have had a powerful effect on

multiple markets. Of course, the escalating influence of green in todays world can also be

attributed to a cultural rise in green popularity, since star-studded celebrity greendorsements

almost appear to play a greater role in American society than the ongoing search for reliable energy.

But following the pack and following regulations arent the only reason for companies to go green.

And ecological responsibility, while important, plays one of many roles in the need for company

green. Instead, going green can also lead to surprisingly intense savings and profits, which was

mentioned in a short piece on affiliate blog site Spend Matters. In fact, an eco-friendly steelmaking

process that went commercial last year proved that green practices could be incredibly you

guessed it cost-effective.

The story of steelmaking is not a complicated one. The bottom line is that steel comes about as a

result of removing most of the impurities from iron, creating something much stronger. There are

many processes for achieving this end result, and most of these processes depend on coal and coke

for production. However, steelmakers in Australia have begun using the worlds first green

steelmaking process, and are substituting coke and coal with plastic bags and drink bottles thatwould normally end up in city dumps or landfills. Greenhouse gas emissions, power usage, and

manufacturing costs are much lower because of the new technology, and its all due to replacing

30 percent of the coke and coal with these polyethylene plastics, commonplace products that

contain carbon, an essential raw material used in electric arc furnace steelmaking which is

currently the method employed for 40 percent of the worlds 1.1 billion tons of annual steel

production. Veena Sahajwalla, a scientist at the University of New South Wales, is improving that

method as the creator of this important technology. The university has partnered with OneSteel Ltd.

in Australia, a company that is not exactly small potatoes in the land down under, as it boasts an

annual turnover of A$6 billion (US$5.3 billion), and is one of Australias biggest electricity users.

As the Bee Gees Used to Say, Dont Throw It All Away

Trash for cash is todays theme in a growing industry known as secondary metals. Recycling plays no

small role in the developing green attitude of the metals industry. In fact, when it comes to metals,

hundreds of millions of tons were recycled throughout the world during the last year alone. Metals

recycling impacts both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, which can be processed and adapted into a

form of raw material used to smelt fresh, new metals. The worldwide market for ferrous scrap has

significantly grown over time, and its predicted that this trend will continue to move upwards with


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iron, steel, and stainless steel scrap. Meanwhile, non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, brass,

copper, lead, nickel, and zinc, are processed in substantial amounts, which is important to traders

and the economy since non-ferrous metals are commodity investments traded on the LME. Whether

the metals recycling process is always economically feasible, however, is the most important

consideration.

Aluminum recycling is one practice thats slowly becoming ingrained in our minds as routine and

necessary. Calculating the amount of energy thats crucial for aluminum recycling shows the

process is a successful option, particularly in comparison with principal aluminum production,

where total energy equals approximately 260 MJ kg-1. Aluminum recycling, on the other hand, is

significantly less at 6-10 MJ kg-1, using a mere 5% of the initial energy requirement of primary

production. A University of Cambridge website shares a sample calculation of the amount of energy

the process can save, which is crucial for environmentally safe practices. Able to reemerge multiple

times through recycling without any loss of properties, it is imperative that aluminum is melted and

recast as much as possible, even if the aluminum source must be separated at times during the

process due to the slightly different alloys found in, say, drink cans, foils, and coils.Aluminum, like

many other green metals, can also help other industries become more environmentally friendly.

For example, the automotive industry uses aluminum to allow vehicles to be both lighter and more

fuel efficient.

Another prominent metal thats easily recyclable is copper which is partly why were facing the

stolen metals dilemmas that often involve copper thefts. Despite the tumultuous situations with

pilfering, copper scrap is utilized by numerous producers. With copper introduced to the market as

copper alloys or combos with tin and zinc in bronze and brass, the recycling process includes simple

remelting before combination with primary electro refined copper. Reverberatory furnace, electric

arc furnace, and blast furnace are popular processing methods for copper, and its easy to find scrap

copper recycling exchange listings, where people may ask for copper wire, clean oxidized copper

pipe or tubing, copper coils, and other similar requests.

Platinum and platinum-group metals (PGMs) are also demanded in swelling amounts, which means

there is definite room for recycling practices. Most platinum recycling comes from the autocatalyst

sector. After all, catalytic converters use about 40 percent of the platinum on the market each year.

To recycle, the catalyst substrate is fused and the platinum dissolved to melt at a blistering

temperature with iron or copper, followed by leaching of the acquired alloy and archetypal refining

methods. Beyond this, there are multiple alternative methods available to retrieve platinum forrecycling practices. The process chosen usually depends on the amount of platinum in the scrap.


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Unfortunately, the ease of this practice and the demand for PGMs makes platinum another highly

coveted target of theft. According to Newsweek writer Andrew Murr, catalytic converters on

automobiles are often stolen due to the few grams of platinum they contain. The platinum is there

to help transform the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide in vehicle exhaust into less harmful

nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water. With the price of platinum going from $500 per ounce two years

ago to $1,500 an ounce in recent days, and platinum prices not expected to take a plunge any time

soon, a little illegal go can add up to a lot of dough.

Later this month on MetalMiner, the recyclable possibilities of lead, zinc, iron and steel will also be

explored. The British Metals Recycling Association offers further thoughts on the importance of

metals recycling. They state the facts in an honest and straightforward manner thats worthy of

citation: Using secondary raw materials means less use of natural resources which would

otherwise be needed to make new metal compounds such as iron ore in steelmaking; nickel in

stainless steel; or alumina and bauxite in aluminum smelting. There are also considerable savings

in energy, and reduced CO2 emissions, in production methods using recycled materials. While hot

metals crimes, prevalent among copper, platinum, and other metals, are harmful for the image of

recyclable metals, the impact of metals recycling on the environment and the economy is certainly

an exciting prospect.

The chart above from the University of Cambridge shows metal recycling

statistics from the UK.

Life After Death for Computers, Cell Phones

As lightweight computers and laptops leap into prominence in modern culture, older versions ofcomputers find themselves hightailing it to waste sites. However, steel, aluminum, copper, iron,

nickel, tin, and lead are all elements that can be extracted from these electronics. At times, with

sustainable and recycling possibilities comes danger and scrutiny, as theres a fear of more toxic

materials being released such as lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium. But manufacturers hope to

prove they can reprocess old electronics in a responsible and reliable way. This would be an effective

and helpful interaction for our environment, especially when we consider that from 20032006,

nearly three million tons of consumer electronic waste was produced in the U.S. per year. Since

then, experts admit that the numbers have only increased.


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For those interested in learning about the hereafter of cellular phone waste, the New York Times

recently included an article on the afterlife of these electronics. I wont paraphrase the entire article,

since the fascinating piece is worth a read of its own, but the writer discusses the fact that not nearly

enough phones are recycled, a shame since these are the most valuable form of e-waste. The

writer describes, for example, the resulting copper from the process: I watched a giant claw move

across the ceiling, rip out the plate and, with a violent whack, cleave off a gleaming layer of 99.9

percent pure copper, with the unmistakable sheen of a new penny. It was thrilling to see something

so clean and recognizable emerge from such an alien process. And its not just copper. Metals such

as platinum, silver, and gold are also pulled from discarded cell phones.

More green metals information and innovations will be discussed in a future installment of this

series, including metals grades for recycled metals, environmentally friendly metals coatings, and an

insider look at GreenAlloys. In the future, we might also take a look at the way green metals

relate to pricing and the stock exchange. Anything you would like to see featured? Send your green

metals thoughts to [email protected] or post them on MetalMiner, your source for

metals intelligence in the global market.

Steel and aluminium are common metals in the UK and are produced and exist in large quantities.

Their uses and usefulness were discovered thousands of years ago. Longevity, malleability, strength

and conductivity -their properties have been used over the ages to provide us with the many goods

we see today. They may be found in items as varied as cars, computers, buildings and packaging.

Although UK per capita consumption of steel has dropped since the 1970s, aluminium use is still

growing. Metals may remain for many years as viable products and so the environmental effects of

their production will be lessened relative to using less durable materials.

World primary production of aluminium is around 24 million tonnes on average a year. The largest

producer of aluminium is Australia, although other producer countries include Jamaica, Brazil,

Guinea, China and parts of Europe.

World crude steel production stood at 1.05 billion tonnes in 2004. This represented a worldwide

increase in production of 8.8% compared to 2003. Excluding China, world production rose by 4.5% in

2004.

Why bother?top of page


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Metals can be recycled indefinitely without loosing any of their properties. They make up around

8% of the average household dustbin yet in 2003 the recycling rates for aluminium and ferrous

metals as a percentage of their consumption were only 33% and 26% respectively.

Aluminium

Aluminium is produced from bauxite, a clay-like ore that is rich in aluminium compounds. The

aluminium is only found as a compound called alumina, which is a hard material consisting of

aluminium combined with oxygen. This alumina has to be stripped of its oxygen in order to free the

aluminium. The alumina is dissolved in a molten salt at a reduction plant and a powerful electric

current is run though the liquid to separate the aluminium from the oxygen. This process uses largequantities of energy.

Recycling 1kg of aluminium saves up to 6kg of bauxite, 4kg of chemical products and 14 kWh of

electricity.

Recycling aluminium requires only 5% of the energy and produces only 5% of the CO2 emissions as

compared with primary production and reduces the waste going to landfill. Aluminium can be

recycled indefinitely, as reprocessing does not damage its structure . Aluminium is also the most

cost-effective material to recycle.

A recycled aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours

If all the aluminium cans in the UK were recycled there would be 14 million fewer full dustbins each

year.

Steel

Steel is also mined from an ore. Iron ore is plentiful but it too is usually combined with oxygen or

sometimes carbon or sulphur. The iron ore is stripped in a blast furnace to reduce it to pig iron that

can then be used in steel production.

There are currently about 11Mt per year of iron and steel scrap arisings. About 70% of this scrap is

recovered. Of the remainder - 2/3 is landfilled.


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Steel Facts and Figures

Each household uses approximately 600 steel cans per year

There are over 300million cans used per week over the xmas period

The thinnest part of the can wall measures only 0.07mm thick - that's thinner than a human hair

It would take 1087 steel drinks cans stacked end to end to reach the top of the London Eye or 2818

to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower

The value of used steel cans in the waste stream is 28 milllion per annum which is available to

collectors.

Don't forget that 1.8 billion drinks cans are made of steel

Millions of steel cans are collected every day by using huge magnets to pull them out of dustbin

waste

The recycling rate of all steel packaging is 46%; aluminum has a 23.4% packaging recycle rate .

Steel cans are becoming lighter with the average weight of a soft drinks can in 2004 expected to be

only 21.4g .In 1980 it was 31.2g

There are over 2.5 billion cans recycled in the UK each year - [That's a saving of 125,000tonnes of

solid waste every year] that's equivalent to the weight of 18,000 double decker buses!!

All steel cans are 100% recyclable

All steel cans contain up to 25% recycled steel

Its not just food and drink cans made from steel! - most of your deodorants, hairsprays, polishes,

paint cans and other household and DIY products are made out of steel too!

Recycling one tone of steels cans saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore ,0.5 tonnes of coal & 40% water

usage

Two-thirds of all cans on supermarkets shelves are made from steel

Recycling 1 tonne of steel scrap saves 80% of the CO2 emissions produced when making steelfrom iron ore

Recycling seven steel cans saves enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 26 hours

Every tonne of steel packaging recycled makes the following environmental savings:

1.5 tonnes of iron ore

0.5 tonnes of coal

40% of the water required in production

75% of the energy needed to make steel from virgin material


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1.28 tonnes of solid waste Reduction of air emissions by 86%

Reduction of water pollution by 76%

Other metals

Although present in smaller quantities - all metals including nickel, copper, silver, gold, lead, brass

and more, can be recycled. Given their recognised value a smaller quantity of these metals are in

circulation however with reliance on these metals by specific industries eg electronics their presence

is often neglected when householders dispose of items.

How's, what's and where's of recycling metalstop of page

Scrap metal is divided into two types: ferrous and nonferrous. Ferrous scrap is scrap iron and steel.

This includes scrap from old cars, household appliances, steel beams, railroad tracks, ships, and foodpackaging and other containers.

Nonferrous scrap metal is scrap metal other than iron and steel. Examples of nonferrous scrap

include aluminium - including foil and cans, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, titanium, cobalt, chromium,

and precious metals. Although there is less nonferrous scrap than ferrous scrap, it is often worth

more financially. Millions of tonnes of nonferrous scrap metal are recovered by processors and

consumed by secondary smelter, refiners, ingot makers, fabricators, foundries, and other industries.

Scrap metal, ferrous and nonferrous, can be categorized as either "home scrap" or "purchased

scrap."

Home scrap is scrap generated at the mill, refinery, or foundry, and is generally remelted and used

again at the same plant. Home scrap never leaves the plant.

Steel scrap is essential in the process of making new steel and can be recycled indefinitely without

loosing its quality. Due to its magnetic properties it is easy to recover even from unsorted waste and

residual waste at Energy from waste plants.

Aluminium foil, laminates (eg crisp packets) will oxidise in an incinerator and release energy similar

to coal. Aluminium cans will usually melt releasing some energy and when cooled can be separated

from the bottom ash.


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Purchased scrap represents the fractions of the metals that need to be collected before they can be

recycled. Large goods eg vehicles and fridges have historically been collected by scrap metal

merchants owing to the value of the metal recovered. New legislation regarding the recycling of

fridges and of end-of-life vehicles is changing the specific role of the metals recyclers in the

collection and processing of these goods but their importance in recovering the metal components

has not changed. Electronics recyclers are playing a bigger role in an economy in which waste

electronics form an increasingly large part, not least because of new legislation.

Household metal waste packagingtop of page

As householders we are more commonly aware of the metal packaging we receive. Whereas plastic

packaging may cause difficulties due to the disparate nature and need to separate it into its different

types - metal packaging recycling is simpler. As the ferrous and non ferrous components can be

separated using magnets one large problem of identification is solved. Whilst beverage cans remainthe most popular choice for collection by local authorities - aerosol cans and aluminium foil are

accepted by many.

Each year the UK uses around 600 million aerosols, which is equivalent to about ten cans per person;

in total this represents almost 30,000 tonnes of reclaimable high grade metal that could be recycled

each year. Approximately 85 per cent of aerosols are made from tin-plated steel, and the rest from

high-grade aluminium.

Seventy-five per cent of Local Authorities are now collecting empty aerosols through either kerbside

schemes or bring banks.

Steel packaging

Steel cans have a very thin layer of tin that protects the surface of the can, which is why steel cans

are often called "tins". The average weight of this tin coating has decreased by 40% over the last 20

years and the average steel can now only weighs 22g compared to 34g twenty years ago. Althoughthis has given great resource savings, throwing cans away still wastes valuable resources and adds to

the amount of waste that has to be landfilled. As local authorities recognise benefits to be gained

from including steel cans in their multi-material kerbside collection schemes, so recycling rates have

risen. In 2003 44% of all steel packaging, including 2.5 billion steel cans, were recycled, but 9 billion

steel cans are still going to landfill, this despite the fact that owing to the high price paid for steel,

recycling collections can often be made at zero cost to the collector.

Aluminium packaging


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75% of all canned drinks sold in the UK are packaged in aluminium. In 2001 the UK consumed 5

billion aluminium drinks cans, of which 42% were recycled. Although this is a great improvement on

the 2% recycled in 1989, there were still a massive 3 billion cans that were landfilled.

Aluminium cans are recycled into new aluminium cans. Used beverage cans are normally back on

supermarket shelves as new beverage cans in 6-8 weeks. With a growing percentage of cans made

from aluminium, because of its lightweight qualities, this ensures a healthy market for aluminium

can recycling.

Aluminium foil and aluminium cans are made of different alloys and must therefore be collected

separately. Most recycled aluminium foil is used to make cast components for the automotive

industry, such as cylinder heads and engine blocks.

When washed, foil milk bottle tops, tops of cartons, baking and freezing trays, kitchen foil, cigarette

and tobacco foil (without the backing paper) are all suitable for collection. Metal coated plastic film,

which is often used for crisp and snack packets, looks like aluminium but can not be recycled. Use

the scrunch test to check whether it is aluminium foil. If it springs back when scrunched in the hand

it is not recyclable!

Other metals

When considering metal recycling we generally refer to aluminium and steel. Other metals eg

copper, gold, silver and brass are less frequently landfilled as their value is more generally

recognised and consequently the recycling infrastructure more developed. That being said, handling

of large quantities of electronic equipment in order to recover precious metals has led to the

exporting of equipment to places where little regard is paid to the health or workers and the

environmental consequences of poor treatment of this waste stream. For further details see our

electronics information sheet.

Metal

Did you know that Americans use over 100 million steel cans and over 200 million aluminum

beverage cans every day? Thats enough to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial airliner fleet every

three months!


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And even though steel and aluminum are two of the most recycled waste products in the U.S., it is

estimated that the percentage of these metal products that are being recycled has decreased by

almost 20% in the past twenty years. Both aluminum and steel have high scrap metal recycling value,

so the more that we recycle the more energy and money we can save.

What is metal recycling?

Metal recycling is the process of reusing old metal material, mainly aluminum and steel, to make

new products. Recycling old metal products uses 95% less energy than manufacturing it from new

materials.

Aluminum is an ore, which is a mineral, and it usually exists by combining with oxygen. To make an

aluminum product an electrical current is run through the metal and separates the oxygen from the

aluminum. The aluminum is then melted and shaped into various products. Steel is created in a

chemical reaction process located in a hot blast furnace. During this process the iron ore is freed

from the oxygen and is then used to make steel.

Both of these metal recycling processes consume millions of tons of energy. If we recycle metalproducts we only have to use 4% of this total energy, which can save our natural resources and

reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

What types of metal products can be recycled?

Almost all aluminum and steel products can be recycled over again without compromising its

content. Here are some of the main recyclable products:

Aluminum

Soda cans

Appliances

Auto parts


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Windows

Doors

Steel

Tin cans

Auto parts

Bridge parts

Appliances

Torn-down buildings

Metal recycling is a great way to create new car parts and building structures, both of which help our

economy and lifestyles flourish.

What are the benefits of metal recycling?

Here are some benefits of recycling aluminum and steel:

You can go to scrap metal recycling facilities and get paid for what you bring

Reduces greenhouse gas emissions

Aluminum and steel can be recycled over and over again

Decreases environmental damage caused by mining

Less land and water pollution

Recycling metal such as aluminum and steel drastically reduces how much energy sources we

consume every day. To learn more about metal recycling you can visit the Aluminum Association and

Steel Recycling Institute websites or MetalsReuse.com.

Green Metals

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