If you’re looking for metal recycling in Red Deer, drive to McSteel South, located 3 hours away in Wainwright, AB. We accept all forms of eligible scrap metal, including valuable metals like copper. Below, we’ll discuss the environmental and economic benefits of recycling copper and how you can get rid of your metal scrap at McSteel. Keep reading!
Why Is Copper a Good Recyclable Metal?
Recycling all metals benefits the environment and economy. Copper is an excellent metal to recycle because, unlike most materials, it doesn’t degrade over time. Copper doesn’t lose any chemical or physical properties during the recycling process and can be reused indefinitely.
Copper is also among the most sought-after materials in the metal recycling market. In fact, over 75% of copper products are from recycled copper. So, don’t consider your old, rusted-out copper housewares useless. Once they’re taken to a scrap yard, transported to the recycling centre, and melted down, they can be used in a hundred different ways!
Some common types of copper that you can recycle include:
- Bright Copper: The most valuable copper on the market, this is commonly found in high-voltage power cables.
- #1 Copper: This copper is an unalloyed and uncoated metal that hasn’t been treated with paint, insulation, or other substances. You can generally find it in plumbing and waterline pipes.
- #2 Copper: This copper may have coatings, small imperfections, or alloys but is still considered valuable. Like #1 copper, you can find it in wires and pipes.
The Environmental Benefits
You can contribute to a healthy environment by recycling your copper! Recycling is one of the most effective ways to help your local ecosystem, and delivers the following benefits:
- Energy efficiency: recycling copper saves up to 85% of the energy required to mine copper sulphides and manufacture marketable copper products.
- Preserves natural resources: We have a limited amount of copper on earth. Recycling allows us to extend the lifespan of copper sulphides that have already been manufactured and reduces the need for mining.
- Reduces waste and toxins: Landfills are filled with plastic, wood, metal, and other materials that can be recycled. Instead, they gather in a pile and degrade, releasing harmful chemicals and toxins into the air and soil. Recycling copper and other metals reduces the waste of useful materials and their negative environmental effects.
The Economical Benefits
In addition to being great for the environment, recycling copper also has monetary benefits, including putting money into your own pocket. At McSteel, we don’t just salvage your metal; we buy it from you! Once you bring your scrap to our yard, we’ll weigh and assess it and give you an offer based on the current market value of your copper.
Other economic benefits of recycling copper include:
- Contributes to a circular economy
- Creates jobs for recycling depots and other facilities where copper is brought or used
- Decreases economic dependence on mining
Recycle Your Copper Scrap at McSteel Salvage & Clean-Up
Are you ready to part ways with your copper scrap? Bring it to McSteel’s South location in Wainright, AB, just a couple hours from Red Deer. Whether you have a small scrap pile or a large load, we’re happy to accept it!
Visit our Services page to learn more about our process.