How to Recycle Scrap Metal

Washingtonians share an appreciation for nature and a dedication to keeping it clean and green. We live in a beautiful state, and we all have to do our part to keep it that way. One of the biggest contributions we can all make is recycling.

You probably already know how to recycle your daily-use plastic and cardboard items in the bin outside your home. But how can you recycle scrap metal? Sutter Metals makes it easy and advantageous to recycle scrap metal, benefiting both you and the environment. Let’s explore what you can recycle and how it works.

Can You Recycle Metal? Yes!

Most metal can be recycled. In fact, it’s one of the most effective materials to recycle–unlike plastic, metal can often be recycled indefinitely without compromising its quality. 

Unfortunately, despite the benefits of recycling metal, a lot of it still goes into the waste bin. The recycling rate for nonferrous metals is around 68%, but the rate for aluminum and electronics is only 30-40%

What Types of Metals Can Be Recycled

The majority of metals can be recycled and should be. Some small metal items, like aluminum and tin cans, can be easily recycled in your bin at home. But even larger and more complex forms of metal can be recycled, often at a profit. Here are some of the metals we can recycle at Sutter Metals.

Aluminum: We’ll take your soda cans! And unlike the bin on the street, we’ll pay for your recycling materials. Aluminum cans are 100% recyclable. Keep in mind that beverage cans are different than soup cans–those are made of tin. We can also recycle aluminum radiators and rims from vehicles.

Brass: Your vehicles and household heating systems may have brass radiators, which are valuable for recycling. Plumbing fixtures and occasionally jewelry or musical instruments may contain red brass, another valuable scrap metal. We can also recycle shell brass if it is completely clear of all live ammunition. 

Copper: Plumbing fixtures, radiators, and electrical parts often contain copper. We accept many types of copper scrap metal, including bright copper wire, which is common in electrical wiring.

E-scrap: Electronics have lots of recyclable components! Your old laptops, game consoles, hard drives, and motherboards might not be of much use to you anymore, but they still have recycling value.

Stainless steel: We can recycle many types of stainless steel. Bring in your stainless steel cookware, containers, appliances, and construction materials, and we’ll determine its composition to give you a quote.

Recycle Scrap Metal, Electronics

Benefits of Recycling Metal

Recycling scrap metal benefits you and the environment. Metal takes up to 500 years to decompose in landfills. Yet it can be recycled over and over again without losing its quality–so why wouldn’t we recycle it? It’s much cheaper and more efficient to recycle metal than to use new ore. The earth has a fixed amount of metal we can mine, and mining isn’t sustainable. 

The energy savings for using recycled aluminum versus virgin ore is up to 92%. Recycling metal saves coal, water, and other natural resources. There are monetary benefits to metal recycling, too. The U.S. exports lots of scrap metal at a significant profit, and the scrap recycling industry supports thousands of jobs. 

At Sutter Metals, we’re committed to providing the most competitive prices for your scrap metal. We even have a loyalty program so the more you recycle, the more you earn. 

How to Recycle Scrap Metal

Recycling scrap metal at Sutter Metals is simple. Simply bring in your scrap metal, and we’ll weigh and evaluate it, and give you a quote–the rest is up to us. If you want to get rid of a junk vehicle, we’ll haul it for you and pay a competitive price for the materials. We also work with builders and contractors to help recycle materials on project sites.

What about your little metals, like aluminum cans or small household appliances? We can take those, too! Aluminum cans can be recycled at home, but you can profit off of recycling a large amount of aluminum with us. We can also recycle those items that your city recycling service can’t, like appliances and electronics.

Recycle Scrap Metal

Start Recycling at Sutter Metals

To get paid for your scrap and help the environment by recycling metals, all you need to do is give us a call or stop by. We can answer any questions you have, including what can and can’t be recycled. If you’re unsure if something can be recycled, it’s always better to ask than just throw it away. 

If you need convenient metal recycling for your project, want to get rid of a junk car at a profit, or make some spare change off your collection of aluminum cans, contact Sutter Metals today!