The beneficial impact of recycling efforts on our environment isn’t exactly a secret. For decades, we’ve been hearing about the evidence of energy savings, landfill space reduction and what it all means to the future or our communities.

And yet, even when faced with all the good that comes from responsibly recycling scrap materials, many construction and demolition companies still choose not to do so at their job sites. It doesn’t matter what the environmental benefits are; recycling is too big a hassle, costs too much, or just isn’t worth the time. If your company is one of these companies, hearing about more about “carbon footprints” probably isn’t going to help change your mind.

So why should we recycle when those reasons aren’t good enough? Let’s focus on how recycling can benefit your business directly, especially with the right scrap management program in place on your job site.

Green looks good on you

Once upon a time, recycling was almost a novelty in the construction and demolition industries. Today, recycling scrap and waste materials isn’t just a nice bonus service you can tack on to your invoice anymore. Customers and clients of all types, from private contractors and corporations to public and governmental services, expect it. In fact, many government agencies provide great incentives for C&D businesses who take recycling into account.

A construction or demolition company that doesn’t have a scrap management plan that involves recycling may not only look out-of-touch to potential customers, but they also lose big projects with clients who believe in the importance of recycling. Either scenario is potentially poison to the health of your business.

Being a responsible recycler isn’t all image and client satisfaction, though. It’s also about saving your company some cash.

Sustainability through quality scrapping

If you work in construction, chances are you’re already using materials that contain a high percentage of recycled metals in your latest project. Who could blame you? These products are just as strong and durable as the ones made from virgin ore, but much more cost-effective. So if you know recycling scrap metal helps keep your project costs low, why wouldn’t you want to contribute to the process that keeps it that way?

By recycling the solid waste materials on your construction or demolition site, you’re able to help ensure a better price for supplies not just for yourself, but for the entire industry. And we’re not just talking about scrap metal either. Nearly 90% of C&D waste can be recycled. That includes not just the glass and plastic you toss in a blue bin at home, but also masonry-like concrete and bricks, plumbing fixtures, certain types of drywall and even asphalt. All of these materials can be used in new building construction, making the process a lot more affordable.

The processing and use of recycled materials also impacts the communities you work in. Whether it’s creation of jobs to the local steel mill or recycling center, or using tax funds more economically through their purchase, recycling puts more money into local economies. That could potentially mean more business for you when the next big project rolls around.

Don’t forget: Green is also the color of money

When you pay someone to haul away your C&D waste without giving any thought to sorting and recycling those materials, you’re letting them drive money right off your job site. Think they’re just going to dump it at a landfill? In fact, it’s more likely that the haulers will sort it all themselves, then sell it for a tidy profit on top of the fee you paid them to take it.

Why let someone else profit from the scrap you worked so hard to generate? By partnering with a trustworthy scrap metal recycler who can get a quality scrap management program up and running at your job site, you could be earning top dollar on that mountain of metal your crew has created, helping you offset any end-of-project costs and increasing your project’s profitability. To do anything else is to just throw cash out with the garbage.

All this, plus saving the environment, too

It’s true that there can be some minor inconveniences to putting a working recycling program into place. The major benefits of improved customer perception, continued supply cost reduction and increased profitability, however, clearly outweigh any misgivings you may have about C&D waste and scrap management. And all the energy savings and waste reduction you keep hearing about? Just think of them as icing on the cake.

photo credit: Eddie-S via Flickr cc

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Making the world greener by recycling the ferrous and non-ferrous metals we use every day is one thing. Taking care of the communities that provide us that scrap is a whole other ballgame. Or, in this case, a hockey game.

Alton Materials treated the kids at River Bend Head Start to a night of St. Louis Blues hockey in the ultra-fancy McBride and Sons Home Suite. The children, along with their parents and some of the Head Start staff, were given the V.I.P. treatment, complete with thirty of the best seats in the a house, an exclusive in-suite buffet featuring chicken fingers, nachos, cookies and other goodies, as well as a visit from Blues’ mascot Louie! And having it all capped off with a big Blues win over the Phoenix Coyotes with a score of 0-3? That was the “icing” on the cake.

“Alton Materials is a big advocate of donating to organizations that specialize in helping children in any way,” Alton Materials trader Brooke Lynch said after the event. “River Bend Head Start is an organization that caters to children by providing them with a positive environment to grow in outside of their home life. Being able to give these children and their parents a special night and see the excitement on their faces was really amazing.”

Providing high-quality scrap metal recycling and collection services are just a few of the ways Alton Materials shows its commitment to the area it lives and works in. By working together with local groups like River Bend Head Start, we’re helping to make our community just as strong as the steel we acquire. Stay informed on our public efforts. Click below to sign up for our newsletter and stay informed on the charities and charity events we support in the St. Louis area.

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It’s one of the most frequently asked questions we get in the scrap industry: “So what’s the difference between ferrous and non-ferrous materials, anyway?” The answer is actually pretty simple. What those differences mean when it comes to the buying and selling of scrap material, however, takes a bit more explaining.

The short answer

Ferrous metals and alloys contain iron; non-ferrous materials do not. If the question happens to come up during a trivia night or your appearance on a game show, you’re pretty much covered. But it’s not so easy to tell when just looking at a random piece of metal. Luckily, there are several other factors that differentiate the two.

The characteristics of ferrous metals

Ferrous metals include mild steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, cast iron, and wrought iron. These metals are primarily used for their tensile strength and durability, especially mild steel which helps hold up the tallest skyscrapers and the longest bridges in the world. You can also find ferrous metals in housing construction, industrial containers, large-scale piping, automobiles, rails for railroad and transportation, most of tools and hardware you use around the house, and the knives you cook with at home.

Due to the high amounts of carbon used when creating them, most ferrous metals and alloys are vulnerable to rust when exposed to the elements. While this isn’t true of wrought iron, which is so iron pure that it resists oxidization, or stainless steel, which is protected thanks to its high chromium content, it’s a good rule of thumb that if you see rust, it’s a ferrous metal.

Most ferrous metals also have magnetic properties, which makes them very useful in the creation of large motors and electrical appliances. The reason you can tack your child’s artwork to the refrigerator with that magnet with the local pizza place’s phone number on it? Ferrous metal.

Most importantly, ferrous metals make up the most recycled materials in the world. In 2008 alone, 1.3 billion tons of steel were produced, and 500 million tons of that was made from scrap materials. But we’ll get to why that’s important a little later.

The characteristics of non-ferrous metals

Non-ferrous metals include aluminum, brass, copper, nickel, tin, lead, and zinc, as well as precious metals like gold and silver. While non-ferrous metals can provide strength, they are primarily used where their differences from ferrous metals can provide an advantage.

For instance, non-ferrous metals are much more malleable than ferrous metals. Non-ferrous metals are also much lighter, making them well-suited for use where strength is needed, but weight is a factor, such as in the aircraft or canning industries. Because they contain no iron, non-ferrous metals have a higher resistance to rust and corrosion, which is why you’ll find these materials in use for gutters, water pipes, roofing, and road signs. Finally, they are also non-magnetic, which makes them perfect for use in small electronics and as electrical wiring.

As far as recycling goes, aluminum is the third most recycled material in the world. However, many other non-ferrous materials like copper, brass and lead are relatively scarce, and metallurgists rely heavily on scrap material recycling to make new ones. Which brings us to…

The pricing difference

Whether you’re an individual scrap collector or a large company generating scrap through construction or demolition, chances are you’re interested in selling that metal off. So what can you expect when it comes to the price you’ll get for your materials?

For the most part, ferrous scrap metals tend to be in good supply, so the prices tend to be lower than most non-ferrous metals. Because steel and iron alloys are constantly being recycled in high volume all over the globe, the prices for these materials stay fairly constant on a month-to-month basis, dropping or raising only slightly.

Non-ferrous scrap, as we mentioned before, are somewhat harder to come by and more difficult to create. This makes the demand higher, which drives up the price per pound higher than ferrous metals. While aluminum prices don’t fluctuate often due to recycling efforts, others like copper and brass can change drastically in just a month’s time depending on the needs of the market.

If you’re an individual looking to sell scrap, it’s always best to check with a scrap dealer in your area to find out what prices they’re offering before you bring your materials to the yard. Feel free to give us a call to get the latest rates.

If you have an industrial, commercial, or demolition business, contact your scrap dealer and see if they’ll come out and assess your specific scrap situation. Not only will they help identify what you have, they should be able to provide an estimate for the collection and sale of your ferrous or non-ferrous materials.

But enough about differences

In the end, the greatest similarity ferrous and non-ferrous metal have is their importance to the recycling industry. By working together with your local scrap dealer to create a Scrap Management plan that helps keep the flow of both types of scrap materials steady, we can continue to create new materials that helps benefit all our lives. It’s a choice that truly makes a difference.

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Thanks for stopping by our scrap metal blog. We’re just getting started here, but soon we’ll be using this space to share thoughts about the industry, highlight some of the exceptional work we do, and tell you about how we’re working to make ourselves even better.

If you’re new to Alton Materials, take a look around our website. You’ll find lots of information about our crews, prices, equipment and the services we provide.

If want to keep up with us but you’re not really into checking back with a blog again and again, you might be interested in signing up for our Alton Materials newsletter. It’s a great resource for staying up to date on scrap metal trends and the innovative work we’re doing. And it’s delivered right to your inbox. You can also connect with us via Twitter and Facebook.

Thanks again for your interest in Alton Materials. We’re glad you found us.