Household Items you can Recycle as Scrap Metal

Whether you are renovating the house, or simply replacing an old washing machine, you potentially have a goldmine of metals that can be recycled lying around your home.

Just about every metal in consumer products today can be recycled into new products without losing quality. This means by bringing your used household products to a recycler you can stop wastage of valuable metals.Ferrous metal scrap (steel and iron) and non-ferrous metal scrap (aluminium, copper, and brass) can both be recycled repeatedly to create new components and products without losing any quality. After you bring them in to be recycled they are formed into ingots, slabs, rods or billets, or distributed in powdered or liquid form to different manufacturing facilities for virtually unlimited uses.

Here are a few items you might have around the house which are perfect for recycling:

White Goods

Australians collectively own 45 million appliances, of those about 2.5 million are discarded and end up in landfill each year. These discarded white goods are very much wasted, because although they may be broken they are generally made of two-thirds steel, which means they can be quite valuable when recycled. Many appliances also contain wiring that can go to copper recycling.

Tall Ingots recycles all grades of ferrous materials, including white goods. So next time you are replacing your fridge, washing machine or microwave make a conscious choice not to add to landfill and make some cash by recycling it. Although keep in mind that fridges and air-conditioning units need to be degassed before they are handed over fro recycling.

Computers

Computers are a goldmine when it comes to metal recycling. This is mainly due to the fact that Australians have excessive amount of old, unused computers and because they contain valuable resources like tin, nickel, zinc and copper.

When disposed to landfill, the materials and chemical components used to make computers such as lead, mercury, and arsenic can leak into the soil and groundwater, causing harm to the eco-system. So although it might be a little tricky to deconstruct, recycling your old computers will stop you from adding to landfill, while making you some cash.

The casing is usually suitable for aluminium recycling. It’s a pretty simple process to prepare this for recycling – you can remove it from your old computer by unscrewing the bolts holding the outer casing of the computer tower in place.

The wires in your computer are insulated copper and copper recycling is one of the most common ways to make money from scrap. To recycle these just cut away the wiring from the power supply, disc drives, and so on.

As for the rest of the computer, by dismantling it you can easily take it to a metal recycler to trade in.

WINDOW FRAMES

The durable nature of iron in window frames is used to keep windows securely in place during high winds and rough weather, but also makes it a great scrap to recycle. If you are replacing your windows, or find yourself with old, unused windows this is the perfect opportunity to recycle.

Stoves

Thanks to iron’s heat resistance it is very commonly used as the primary component of stove tops. The iron is usually hidden beneath a layer of enamel, and all it takes is a scratch to reveal the stove’s true iron nature. If you are having your stove (and oven) replaced then be sure to remove all iron elements for recycling before you dispose the rest of it.

Pots, Pan and Cooking Essentials

Essential cooking tools in any kitchen, particularly cast iron pots and pans are a great source of iron that can be recycled. So when replacing your pots and pans don’t just throw them out because it is convenient to do so, get some money for them.

Bed Frames and Railings

Again another easily overlooked iron, old bed frames can be a ticket to some extra money. Like stove tops, these elements are hidden beneath a layer or two of paint. By simply scratching beneath the surface you can reveal the hidden iron.

Cans

If you have just had a party and have an excess of cans around the house, these can easily be recycled at a metal recycler. What’s even better is that aluminium is a highly useful and sustainable material. Of all aluminium ever produced, around 75% is still in use today through recycling. So why not contribute to the sustainability by saving used cans for recycling?

So, if you are desperate to get rid of the old computers that you’ve had in the shed for years, or are renovating and have excess metal pieces, Tall ingots can help you dispose of these in an environmentally sustainable way. Get in contact with Tall Ingots to arrange for a bin to be delivered to site or you can deliver into our yard.