How Recycling Scrap Metal Helps Reduce Greenhouse Gases

There’s no denying that human activities directly contribute to the increase of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Modern society is built on the use of fossil fuels – they play a big role in manufacturing, transportation, electricity and even agriculture. This, combined with the process of deforestation that’s taking place in many parts of the planet, means that humans are currently producing more greenhouse gases than natural sinks, e.g. forests and oceans, can absorb.

Solving environmental issues on an international scale requires introducing new policies and regulations, but there are things each individual person can do to make an impact as well, including switching to renewable energy sources and recycling. To understand why such steps are important, it’s worth learning more about how recycling helps the environment, especially when it comes to scrap metal recycling.

What are greenhouse gases?

Let’s start by explaining what exactly greenhouse gases are and where they come from. Greenhouse gases absorb the heat from the atmosphere, in effect warming up the surface of the Earth. This process is known as the greenhouse effect. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – they occur naturally but can also be emitted due to human activities. As a result of industrial development, the level of emissions has increased to the point where it affects the planet’s temperature, causing global warming.

Why is recycling good for the environment?

• Thanks to recycling, e.g. metal, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced significantly when compared to mining new ores. The process of extracting and processing new materials requires a lot of energy and uses chemicals that can leak into the ecosystem, causing serious harm to the local environment. Recycling, on the other hand, reduces the need for mining and saves energy, so it is both a cheaper and more environmentally friendly option.
• Recycling reduces landfill waste. When items that are either made of or contain metals are thrown away instead of being recycled, they add to the problem of the increasing amount of waste in landfills, take up valuable space and end up polluting the environment. If you take your scrap metal to a scrapyard instead of throwing it in the bin, you can prevent such problems.

Why is recycling scrap metal important?

There’s one more thing worth keeping in mind – our natural resources of metals are limited, and, sooner or later, we’re going to run out of ores to mine. Luckily, metals can be recycled continuously without losing their properties and quality, providing us with a steady supply of materials. But at the same time, this also means that each piece of metal that isn’t recycled and reused reduces our resources.

By getting rid of your scrap responsibly, you can help both the environment and your finances. To help you reach your recycling goals, we offer professional scrap metal collection and rubbish clearance services in Kensington and other areas of London.