Each year we celebrate Earth Day on April 22 to bring awareness about the state of the environment to the public. Each one of us can help by recycling materials that can be reused. One of the many items that can be recycled are door locks. They are made of a highly recyclable material – metal. Because of that recycling old door locks is easy. Metal can be melted down and reused to create other products,
To make sure that the door lock is made of high quality metal touch a magnet to the lock. If the magnet sticks it means the lock is made of ferrous metal and it will bring a better price from the scrap metal buyer. If the magnet doesn’t stick you can still recycle the door lock but you’ll get less money for that type of metal. That’s why it makes sense to do the magnet test and separate ferrous from non-ferrous metal. If you can’t find a scrap metal place nearby, you can also check with your municipal recycling program. You won’t get paid for the metal but you know that you disposed of the locks responsibly.
Here are a few recycling facts*:
- Almost 40% of the world’s steel production is made from scrap.
- CO2 emissions are reduced by 58% through the use of ferrous scrap.
- Recycling one ton of steel saves 642 kWh of energy, 1.8 barrels of oil, 10.9 million Btu’s of energy and 2.3 cubic metres of landfill space.
- Recycling steel uses 75% less energy compared to creating steel from raw materials – enough to power 18 million homes.
- Steel recycling uses 74% less energy, 90% less virgin materials and 40% less water; it also produces 76% fewer water pollutants, 86% fewer air pollutants and 97% less mining waste.
- Steel automobile frames contain at least 25% recycled steel and a typical electrical appliance will usually be made of 75% recycled steel.
So even if you don’t get cash for your recyclable metal – it pays off for all of us living on this great planet Earth.
*Recycling facts provided by the Bureau of International Recycling
Jim is a CT licensed Locksmith with over 30 years experience. He repairs locks, rekeys locks or installs new locks at Connecticut homes or businesses. Email Jim Arsenault or call him at 860-678-9797.
I’ve always wondered what kinds of things could be recycled. I didn’t know that wasted metal was such a problem in the environment! It’s definitely a good idea to ensure that any and all scrap metal is properly recycled.
It’s so good to hear that nearly half of the world’s steel supply comes from scrapped metals so it’s a little more eco-friendly. I think that it’s good to think about recycling as much as your waste as you can so that we lessen our carbon-footprints. I need to replace my door locks soon because they aren’t functioning properly anymore and I want locks with some smart features.