More than ever, individuals and companies are interested in making a positive environmental impact—making a positive impact on your bottom line isn’t a terrible idea, either. Recycled stainless steel is a valuable asset to a number of global industries; in fact, most stainless steel is manufactured using previously recycled materials! Gardner Metal Recycling offers competitive pricing and top-notch service for ferrous metals like stainless steel as well as non-ferrous metals.
Convenient Stainless Steel Recycling in Austin
Stainless steel is an alloy that is harder than pure iron without the rust. Stainless steel is created by combining iron with nickel, which prevents the iron from oxidizing. While there are a variety of different grades and finishes of stainless steel that are engineered for many different uses, there are a few elements essential to its composition that can be found in different forms of stainless steel. Iron, nickel, molybdenum, and chromium—which is what gives stainless steel its signature shiny finish—are all alloys that contribute to the amazingness that is this highly versatile and 100 percent recyclable metal. When stainless steel is melted down, all these alloys are able to be extracted and reused! Without degradation from product to product, these alloys can keep on providing industry what they need to keep valuable services and products available without needing to fully extract new raw metals from the earth.
Because stainless steel is so durable and so versatile, it’s not hard to find stainless steel products or its recycling facilities near you. Gardner Metal Recycling in Austin provides stainless steel recycling services to help our customers responsibly dispose of stainless steel scrap from construction, demolition and other large-scale projects.
Where Is Stainless Steel Scrap Found?
The distinct chromium silver shine of stainless steel is everywhere, from your home kitchen to the research facilities of NASA. Because it is so durable and versatile, stainless steel is used for many medical instruments—like screws that hold bones together! It’s also a major player in the food industry because of how well it holds up in heat and water without rusting.
Other industries that commonly have stainless steel scrap include:
- HVAC
- Construction
- Remodeling professionals
- Demolition companies
- Food manufacturing
- Sheet metal fabricators
- Machine shops
To understand the complexity of recycled stainless steel, you have to know a little about ferrous vs. non-ferrous metals. While steel itself is a ferrous metal, most stainless steel is a ferrous alloy but not a ferritic structure. These commonly seen classes of stainless steel are called austenitic stainless steel, and include the most common type of stainless steel, Type 304. You might have seen Type 304 stainless last time you sat down at your favorite microbrewery and viewed the vats through a window or washed dishes in the stainless steel sink in your home kitchen.
How Do I Get the Best Stainless Steel Scrap Price?
Austenitic stainless steel scrap metal prices are generally better than those of ferritic metals, so it is important to know how to tell the difference between the two if you are sorting them yourself. One test is to check to see if the material is magnetic, as magnets do not usually stick to most stainless steel scrap. However, there are grades of stainless steel that are magnetic, so it is worth having it tested at your stainless steel scrap yard if you are not sure.
No matter what kind of metal waste you are recycling, keep your metals separated by type and grade to ensure that you get the proper stainless steel scrap price per pound. You will also want to make sure to clean items of dirt and plastic, as the condition will impact your stainless steel scrap value. If this already sounds like too much work, you can utilize commercial services like Gardner’s pickup and scrap removal to get fair stainless steel scrap metal prices with less time and effort.
What Kinds of Stainless Steel Does Gardner Metal Recycling Accept?
At Gardner Metals, we aim to keep as much scrap metal out of landfills as possible. So, we will take almost all stainless steel scrap. No matter how big or small your stainless steel may be, we have the tools and resources to help you get your recycling to us.
Contact Gardner Metal Recycling today to get a price quote for your scrap and learn how our stainless steel scrap metal prices can help your company’s bottom line.