When the waste generated is processed and transformed, we can obtain raw materials again without the need for primary extraction, which will be used in new manufacturing processes. Thus, industrial recycling helps to prevent waste from ending up in landfill, to save on industrial processes and to reduce the exploitation of natural resources.
Types of industrial recycling
Industrial recycling transforms used and discarded materials or elements into new and useful ones. Thus, some industries carry out certain processes that allow them to obtain totally clean and new recycled materials that return to the market.
Industrial energy recycling
This type of recycling is carried out with materials that cannot be handled by a chemical or mechanical process. In this way, they are reused using techniques such as incineration, gasification or pyrolysis, which make it possible to take advantage of the energy they give off.
Mechanical industrial recycling
Mechanical recycling includes manual techniques or processes that are carried out with machinery to sort, clean, break down, sterilise, melt and make new products from other products. It is typically used in the recycling of scrap metal or plastics.
Chemical recycling
This chemical process involves techniques and procedures that involve changing the chemical structure of the material to be recycled. Its purpose is the decomposition of the polymer to obtain monomers, which indicates that it is a specific type of recycling for plastics. Plastics can be recycled up to three times without losing their properties.
Biological industrial recycling
This treatment or recycling is any treatment operation that aims at the degradation of organic matter in the presence or absence of oxygen.
These treatments can be used with organic matter separated at source or with unseparated organic matter, using complementary mechanical processes in the latter case.
Why industrial recycling is necessary
One of the sectors that generates the greatest amount of waste is industry, which indicates that, if not treated correctly, it can become a polluting agent that affects the planet.
However, with industrial recycling, it is possible to minimise the impact of industrial waste and, in addition, benefit from some advantages such as lower costs. Hence the importance of industrial recycling and facilitating a circular economy model, such as ScrapAd. ScrapAd is a scrap marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling of scrap, making the flow easier and giving waste a second life.