You’ve just waved goodbye to that pile of scrap metal in your driveway. The truck’s driven off, your yard looks cleaner, and you’ve got a few extra dollars in your pocket. But have you ever wondered… what actually happens to that metal once it leaves your place?
It’s not just dumped somewhere and forgotten. In fact, your scrap goes on quite a journey — one that’s surprisingly important for Australia’s recycling industry and the environment.
Step 1: Weighing and Sorting at the Yard
When the truck arrives back at the scrap yard, the load is weighed in. This first weigh-in tells the yard exactly how much metal came from your pickup.
Then comes the sorting. Workers (and sometimes fancy machines) separate the metals into categories like copper, aluminium, brass, stainless steel, and steel. Clean, pure metals go in one pile, while mixed or contaminated pieces go in another.
Example: A fridge door might be mostly steel, but with plastic insulation and rubber seals that need removing. Sorting is all about getting to the good stuff.
Step 2: Removing Non-Metal Materials
Before your scrap can be processed, it needs to be cleaned up. That doesn’t mean soap and water — it means taking out anything that isn’t metal. This can include:
- Plastic coatings on wiring
- Rubber from old car tyres
- Foam or insulation in appliances
- Glass from windows or oven doors
The cleaner the metal, the higher its recycling value.
Step 3: Cutting and Shredding
Big, bulky pieces of scrap metal don’t fit nicely into smelters. So the next stop is the cutting or shredding stage. Powerful industrial shredders and shears break everything down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
This isn’t just for convenience — smaller pieces melt more efficiently, which saves energy and costs.
Step 4: Melting and Refining
Once your metal is clean and in the right size, it heads to the furnace. Each type of metal has its own melting point, so copper is melted separately from aluminium, brass, and so on.
During melting, impurities rise to the top and are removed. This refining process leaves behind high-quality metal that’s ready to be reused.
Step 5: Shaping Into New Forms
After melting, the molten metal is poured into moulds to create ingots, bars, or sheets. These are much easier to transport and sell to manufacturers.
From here, your once-rusted fence posts, old bike frames, or broken appliances could end up as:
- New car parts
- Building materials for homes and offices
- Electrical wiring
- Cans for food and drinks
Step 6: Back Into the Market
The recycled metal is sold to local Australian manufacturers or shipped overseas, depending on demand. Either way, it’s heading into production lines to make new products — all while reducing the need for mining fresh materials.
Why This Process Matters
Recycling scrap metal isn’t just about making money. It helps:
- Reduce landfill waste
- Save natural resources
- Cut down on greenhouse gas emissions
- Support Australian jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries
Every kilo of scrap you recycle is a kilo less that needs to be mined from the ground.
From Your Yard to a New Life
So next time you see that scrap metal truck drive away, know that your old gear is about to be transformed. Whether it comes back as part of a new car, a shiny drinks can, or the wiring in a brand-new home, it’s starting a fresh chapter — and you played a part in it.
Now we provide our metal recycling service in Glenroy, Victoria 3046.
Contact Us
Galaxy Metals
9 Mezzo Walk, Greenvale VIC 3059
0413 176 223
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