The recycling process, although confused with the 7 R’s rule of recycling, is a circular process that involves the transformation of waste back into raw material. This process starts with the generation of the waste itself, followed by several process actions in order to realise the recovery of the waste.
Stages of the recycling process
The recycling process is made up of a series of stages that follow one after the other. Once the first stage, which is the generation of waste, has been passed, the following stages follow:
Waste recovery
The second step consists of the collection, storage and transport of the waste to the transfer plant or sorting plant. This process is only carried out by specialised companies, either public or private.
Transfer plant
These plants are platforms where waste is accumulated in order to be loaded onto high-capacity vehicles for subsequent transport. This step does not always take place and occurs, for example, in those plants or recyclers that simply strive to accumulate as much metal waste as possible.
Sorting plant
In this plant a thorough sorting of the waste is carried out, although this step is mainly carried out upstream, this is where the waste is thoroughly separated.
Waste treatment and recycling
The last step in the process is where the recycling of the waste as such takes place. In these specialised plants, with techniques that vary greatly depending on the waste, the waste is treated and recovered.
Importance of the recycling process
The fact that a waste or scrap leaves the recycling process entails enormous losses for various reasons. For example, more raw materials need to be extracted from nature. This requires more energy, as extraction uses twice as much energy as the recovery of the waste. In addition, more CO2 emissions are generated, which contributes to climate change. Finally, there are higher economic costs due to the waste of materials.
Buy and sell metal waste at ScrapAd
At ScrapAd, we make sure that this recycling process is fulfilled. With our digital platform for buying and selling metal, we bring buyers and sellers of metal waste together to finally give it another life.
If you are a company in the recycling sector, register for free.