Friday, June 1, 2018

Scrap Metal And Metal Recycling

By Sandra Perry


Comparatively speaking, a human being is a weak animal. Animals of a similar size are generally stronger and faster. Smaller animals have some kind of trick, an ace up their sleeve, like venomous fangs, to take on bigger predators. The fact of the matter is, in a physical sense, humanity should not be the dominant species of the planet. But the fact of the matter in an actual sense is that is it. Humanity is, bar none, the single deadliest creature that has ever existed on the history of the planet. Every year, billions of other creatures are killed by human beings. But humanity did not get to the top of the food chain by being stronger or faster. No, it got to it by being the smartest. Other great apes are smart enough to use tools. Only humans are smart enough to actually make tools, and making tools has been a profitable industry for some people. But the resources needed to make those tools are limited. True, they are vast, but vast is not the same thing as limitless. Eventually, the well will run dry. But to help hold off that point, metal recycling St Louis can be applied.

Metals have been the most important resources in human history, so much so that periods of human history have been named after them. Weapons and armor are all made of different alloys. Now, warfare does not envelop the entirety of the globe. In fact, a huge portion of the planet is at peace, where metals such gold and lithium, not iron and lead, are the everyday elements of choice. The internet revolutionized communication, access to knowledge, and recreation. So much so that to not have it constantly would be almost unthinkable for some people. As such, most people have smart phones, both of which use the aforementioned lithium and gold, the former in its batteries and the latter in its operating systems.

Recycling is simply making use of resources. It is when a resource is used more than once, occasionally repurposed for something new. Take for example a glass bottle, once the liquid has been consumed, some people throw it away. But it can easily become a vase.

Because of how finite resources are, recycling is important in order to free up what little there is. Also, it is good for the environment. It can also be profitable.

The really great thing about metal is that as durable as it can be, it also vulnerable to heat. Melting it down allows it to be reshaped and reformed. Doing so allows metals to be used over and over again for different purposes.

Steel beams can be melted down into plates for body armor. Iron can be melted down and forged into new tools. Gold can be melted down and put in computer chips.

Now, repurposing steel and other alloys can be profitable. In fact, there exists a whole industry of people illegally breaking into old homes to extract the copper wiring to sell, because copper is a profitable ware. To add to that, around half of all commercially available copper is from recycled sources.

Mining can be a dangerous activity. Salvaging can make an economy less reliant of it. Not to mention that mining can pollute the environment.

The ability to make use of resources is how mankind rose to the top of the food chain. But the deposits of those resources will eventually be depleted. It thus important to use everything to its fullest extent.




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