The scrap recycling industry annually transforms 150 million tons of obsolete materials from consumers, businesses, and manufacturers into useful raw material, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc (ISRI).
The fact, aside from delivering on its intended promise of catching eyeballs, also underscores the critical role played by the scrap recycling industry in providing valuable resources at reasonable prices to the American manufacturer.
The scrap metal industry may have undergone a major upheaval with the introduction of sophisticated equipment and growth of global recyclers like Sims Metal Management that alone recovers and recycles over 14 million tons of scrap metal a year, but we need to remember one thing.
The scrap metal recycling industry is among the oldest in the world. They’re the original recyclers and have been procuring and processing old materials to be made into new products for centuries now.
WWII – A Fascinating Scrap Metal Story
Among the most fascinating historical stories involving scrap metal recycling dates back to the Second World War.
The country was in the thick of war and suffering a resource crunch. Particularly scarce was metal, a commodity that the war-torn country needed in plenty to build weaponry and war paraphernalia ranging from hand grenades and guns to tanks, ships, and even jets.
Like in most wars, the civilian community was urged to do its bit to support the country’s war efforts and as part of that metal scrap drives were organized across the U.S. In October of 1942, the War Productions Board spearheaded a scrap drive with a goal of gathering 17 million tons of metal to be used by the Allied forces against the Axis powers.
All Americans – from the ordinary to the famous – were urged to turn in their scrap metal for recycling through local-level scrap metal drives organized by schools and community groups and promoted by celebrities. Donors were also paid a nominal sum for certain kinds of scrap items.
To say these drives were immensely successful would be to put it mildly. People attended them in droves bringing with them whatever metal products they could – from farm equipment and trucks to tin foil saved from gum wrappers!
The whole country was caught in a patriotic fervor, which got the better of them at times. There are famous anecdotes around how many historical artifacts went missing during this time. The Spanish-American war cannon from Fort Omaha was among the most prominent historical objects to have gone missing at the height of the war when these drives were being organized.
While the jury is still out on how much of the scrap collected at this time was actually useful, it’s a universally agreed fact that these drives helped in making people feel more integrated in the country’s war efforts and acted as a major morale booster for the general population.
Today, the reasons for scrap metal recycling may have changed, but it continues to be an important piece in the entire “save the environment” movement. Another thing that has not changed is that scrap metal is still quite valuable and in addition to earning us some environmental brownie points, it can help us make a few hassle-free bucks. So, I am headed to the nearest scrap yard. Who’s with me?
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