Years ago, when you were a kid you might have memories of the ‘rag and bone man’ coming round your street on a Sunday morning with his horse and cart shouting ‘any old iron’. Memories of those days gone by are reminders of how things have changed. In those days, the scrap merchants would take away old metal and iron appliances and machines, or just bits of scrap to make money from. They would take those pieces away for free but would sell them on to a dealer who could pay them a fee for their efforts.
Nowadays the ‘rag and bone’ man is not so much a popular sight. Instead, there are men in trucks who can dispose of fridges correctly, under the new laws and most metal appliances have new rules in place for environmentally friendly and safe disposal. This makes things a little more difficult when it comes to getting rid of scrap iron and scrap metal.
A Tiny History of Scrap
During the War scrap metal was in very short supply and people were asked constantly to donate any old scrap metal that they could. People would donate scrap metal in Cheltenham, London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and many other cities so that the scrap could be recycled into tanks, guns, ammunition and all manner of other war related items. Ever since iron and steel were used in a mass-produced way there have been people making the most of recycling it.
Dangers and Risks
Scrap metal dealing is one of the more dangerous jobs because of the high rate of accidents in the industry. There are different levels of danger associated with the scrap metal industry, such as radioactive metal, environmental dangers, heavy materials falling, sharp materials and all other dangerous types of risks.
Types of Metal
Most metals can be scrapped and some metals are more valuable than others. For instance, brass, copper, and bronze are valued higher than steel, and aluminium. There are also ferrous and non-ferrous types, in other words, magnetic and non-magnetic. Aluminium, brass, copper and stainless steel with not attract a magnet, whereas iron will. Non-ferrous metals do tend to be worth more when it comes to monetary value but are open to fluctuation and prices do vary according to current availability and geographical location.
Phelps Brothers Ltd has an enviable reputation for providing a high quality, reliable scrap metal, cash for cars & vehicle recycling services in Cheltenham, UK. Visit them online!
