Video: The Impact of Metals in the Recycling Industry

According to ISRI (the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries), “in 2013, more than 9 million metric tons of nonferrous scrap was processed in the United States last year from a wide array of consumer, commercial and industrial sources: everything from copper and precious metal circuitry in electronic devices, to soft-drink containers, automobile batteries and radiators, aluminum siding, airplane parts and more. Nonferrous metals, including aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin, zinc and others, are among the few materials that do not degrade or lose their chemical or physical properties in the recycling process. As a result, nonferrous metals have the capacity to be recycled an infinite number of times.” Hear more about the impact of the recycling industry on the economy and environment in this 2-minute video produced by the ISRI.

To understand how the scrap industry is able to accurately identify the different metal and alloy grades so they can sort them appropriately, read about handheld X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers. These analyzers are powerful tools that enable non-destructive, rapid on-site screening and grade identification.

Watch the Scrap Recycling Industry video.