How Industrial Metal Disposal Works (and What We Do)

One common question we get when we tell companies that we offer free metal disposal is how does this work?  What happens to the metal after you collect it?  So we thought we would work through our process and some general tips from the wider industry to show how metal disposal works and what we do.

What is metal disposal?

As a business, there are lots of situations where you general waste metal and need an expert to handle it.  Some examples include:

• Factory clearance
• Building site clearance
• Demolition sites
• Foundry clearance
• Renovation projects

The key with all of these is to have a company that offers waste management that covers your area.  So if you are in Wolverhampton or the area around, you would want a company covering Wolverhampton but also who works with companies in The Midlands & UK Wide to correctly dispose of the waste.

The metal disposal process

Because metal isn’t biodegradable in the way that organic materials are, waste metal has to be dealt with in one of a few ways.  But before it can be taken to a foundry or recycling centre, there is a process that needs to be followed.

Separate the whole items

To start with, we look at separating the whole items that can be directly sold as they are.  Motor parts are an example of this, some factory parts and plant machinery.  Often these can be sold to companies looking for second-hand equipment, who refurbish such equipment or even who have special processes for these items.

Sort ferrous and non-ferrous metals

Next, we need to look at the bulk amounts of metals and sort them into ferrous and non-ferrous.  The first part is easy – ferrous metals are magnetic and so will stick to a magnet.  There are various ways to do this and processes depending on how much metal there is but in a small pile, you can simply hover a magnet over it and the ferrous materials will jump up to it.  Common ferrous metals include:

• Steel – on its own or mixed with iron
• Lead – very heavy and dark grey in colour
• Tin – easy enough to bend by hand

Non-ferrous materials will not react to the magnet and then it is a case of sorting out what these are as different metals follow different processes.  For example:

• Copper is found in wires, cables, plumbing and piping, although some plumbing is made from a copper-brass mixture that should be kept separately
• Brass is yellow in colour and a brighter shade than gold
• Aluminium is a dull silver colour and weighs much less than other metals
• Stainless steel is heavy and won’t show any signs of rust but watch for ferrous steel which is different and should react to the magnet

Recycling the material

Once the metal is sorted into the different types, we then can see about recycling it.  We work with recycling centres and foundries across the country to ensure as much as possible is recycled and therefore very little is ever wasted.