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Metal Recycling is a process of reusing ferrous and non ferrous metal scrap into secondary raw material for the smelting of new metals. Recycling old metal products uses 95% less energy than manufacturing it from new materials. Over 400 million tones of metal are recycled each year. Both aluminum and steel have high scrap metal recycling value, so the more that we recycle the more energy and money we can save.

Almost all metals can be recycled into high quality new metal.
The process varies for different metals, but generally produces metals of equivalent quality.

• Steel is created in a chemical reaction process located in a hot blast furnace. During this process the iron ore is freed from the oxygen and is then used to make steel. Using the electric arc furnace process which uses scrap metal as the major raw material. Smaller quantities of scrap can also be used in blast furnace steelmaking.

• Copper scrap is used by both primary and secondary producers, where processing methods include blast furnace, reverberatory furnace or electric arc furnace. In the latter, around 75-80 per cent raw material is scrap copper.

• Aluminium To make an aluminum product an electrical current is run through the metal and separates the oxygen from the aluminum. The aluminum is then melted and shaped into various products. Production uses a single production method - the Hall-Héroult Process. But virgin raw materials require temperatures of around 900 C, whilst scrap aluminium melts at around 660 C.

Types of metal products which can be recycled are

Aluminum: Soda cans, Appliances, Auto parts, Windows, Doors.
Steel: Tin cans, Auto parts, Bridge parts, Appliances, Torn-down buildings

Benefits of Metal Recycling: We can go to scrap metal recycling which Reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Aluminum and steel can be recycled over and over again. Decreases environmental damage caused by mining. Very less land and water pollution. Using secondary raw materials means less use of natural resources which would otherwise be needed to make new metal compounds – such as iron ore in steelmaking; nickel in stainless steel; or alumina and bauxite in aluminium smelting. There are also considerable savings in energy, and reduced CO2 emissions. Thus recycled metals have significant economic value – and so scrap metal is rarely discarded or sent to landfill. Approximately 45% of metals recycled were aluminium, 31% copper, and significant quantities of nickel, brass, zinc and lead recycled every year throughout the world. Europe, China and India are the main destinations for these recycled products.