There’s no doubt that working in demolition is a tough job that can reaps poor reward. Partnering with a scrap metal company can help improve those rewards! With the metals industry and manufacturing sectors recovering nicely after the recession, it’s a great time to start partnering with a scrap metal recycling company to reduce your overhead while maximizing your profits.

Going Green – Both Ways

By partnering with a scrap metal recycler in CT, demolition companies can make money while helping the environment. By at least taking the time to go through a structure that is scheduled for demolition and removing the metal pipes, wiring and internal wall structure (such as steel studs), you can reduce your overhead by recycling metals that would otherwise cost more money if you had to dispose of them in a landfill. At the same time, by keeping those metals on the market, you’re allowing them to become new products instead of taking up precious landfill space. Recycling metals also helps reduce the impact of mining as it lowers demand for metals mined in fragile environments and ecosystems.

How Demolition Can Affect LEED Construction Points

If you’re doing demolition on a site where a LEED Certified building will be going up, how you handle demolition and construction waste will go a long way toward making or breaking the building’s point total. LEED building points can be earned by reducing waste headed to a landfill, preferably by recycling or reusing a minimum of five different materials, structural or non-structural, through the demolition and recycling process. By recycling demolition material, you’re providing a service to the LEED Accredited Professional who will be putting the building through the certification process. If you can, use a recycler who can verify how much metal was recycled for the project, as that will qualify for additional LEED Certification points.

Maximizing Your Recycling Dollars

Now that you see the benefits of recycling your demolition waste, how do you maximize that cash flow? Sort your metals by type – we have several different tests described in our blog to help you verify what kind of metal you’re recycling. Clean it as much as possible, which means removing fittings at the end of copper pipes, removing insulation from wiring and cleaning off heavy corrosion. Though these processes are not necessary to recycle metal, you’ll be paid significantly less for mixed, uncleaned scrap than you will for clean, sorted metals. If you’re having a quiet day at the shop due to bad weather or unforeseen delays at the job site, take a few minutes to sort and clean your scrap before dropping it off or having it picked up from your site.

By recycling scrap metal at your demolition site, you can improve your bottom line while doing something great for the planet. Contact a reputable recycling company in CT or your area to discuss what metals they can accept and what their process is for accepting recyclable metals.