If you’ve been hauling scrap metal to the dump, you should consider taking it to a metal recycling scrapyard instead. Recycling metal offers numerous advantages over putting it in a landfill. Review this guide to learn about these benefits. 

Why Recycling Metal Is Important

1. Reduces Demand for New Materials

When you recycle metal, it's repurposed to create new products and items. This reduces the demand for dwindling resources, like iron ore, making the most of existing materials. Metal isn't a renewable resource, so it's important to use it efficiently by recycling it whenever possible. 

2. Increases Demand for Jobs

Recycling creates more jobs and benefits the economy more than other options for disposing of scrap metal. Over one million people are employed by the recycling industry, grossing over $200 billion in revenue each year. 

The recycling industry creates significantly more jobs than incinerating or throwing away the same amount of waste. This boosts the economy and helps Americans stay employed.

3. Helps the Environment

The most well-known benefit of recycling is its effect on the environment. Mining practices create large amounts of emissions and harm ecosystems in the affected areas, so the environment is aided when mining demands decrease. 

Also, creating new products from the raw materials releases further harmful emissions and uses more energy. Metal that’s left to sit in a landfill doesn’t break down naturally and may release toxins into the soil and water, harming wildlife and ecosystems.

If you have scraps you need to get rid of, the metal recycling services of Metalico Rochester in Monroe County, NY. With three locations throughout New York, they offer fair, competitive pricing for metal scrap. They’ve been recognized by the EPA as a Green Power Partner, and they accept an exhaustive list of scrap items, including car parts, cans, wire, appliances, and holiday lights. Learn why you should choose them online, or call (585) 436-0713 for a quote.