Scrap iron: what is it?

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Scrap iron is waste metal from destroyed structures, old cars, or broken appliances. It can be recycled at scrap yards and turned into new items. Recycling reduces the need to mine iron ore and saves resources.

Scrap iron is ferrous metal which is waste. It could come from things like destroyed architectural structures, old cars, or broken appliances, and is often melted down and reworked into something new and useful. While the term “scrap iron” implies that these pieces of metal are literally iron, the term is also generally used to refer to pieces of scrap material that may include other iron-based metals, such as tin, aluminum, and steel.

There are numerous sites for recycling scrap iron, called scrap yards. Recycling benefits the environment and provides inexpensive iron for new structures or other construction projects. Enterprising citizens can find many ways to use recycled materials for projects around the home and garden, including turning them into works of art or garden ornaments.

There are thousands of places to recycle scrap iron. Anyone in possession of the material could sell it to a for-profit scrap yard, although the rates are usually lower than those paid for nonferrous scrap metal. Scrap yards prefer smaller scrap pieces and typically pay more for pieces smaller than 5 feet (1.5 m) by 2 feet (0.6 m), because these pieces do not require breaking down before they are melted down. The iron is then melted, or smelted, and formed into bars called ingots. These ingots could be sold to companies to create new iron-based items, such as cars and soda cans.

Recycling scrap iron reduces the need to mine iron ore, in turn reducing mining and manufacturing waste. According to the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries, the United States annually recycles enough scrap to fill railroad cars that stretch nearly half the world. Most of this waste is produced as waste from industrial and manufacturing industries. Each ton (907 kg) of recycled scrap saves 2,500 pounds (1,133 kg) of iron ore, 1,400 pounds (635 kg) of coal, and 120 pounds (54.4 kg) of limestone.




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