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When the time comes to get rid of an old appliance, your business is faced with the sometimes confusing task of figuring out how to dispose of it properly. With appliances ranging from large commercial refrigerators to small coffee makers, it can be difficult to know exactly how to get rid of these products in the most environmentally friendly way.

The Environmental Benefits of Recycling Old Appliances

Whether your business needs to upgrade dozens of commercial refrigerators, or you are looking for a more energy-efficient washing machine for your home, you will soon find yourself needing to dispose of old appliances.

It’s important to seek out the most environmentally friendly means of appliance recycling that is available in your community. In fact, holding onto an old appliance for too long can be worse for the environment than arranging for it to be recycled at the end of its useful life. By using an inefficient refrigerator or washing machine, for example, your energy consumption could unnecessarily spike, leading to higher resource use and greenhouse gas emissions.

However, if improperly disposed of, old appliances can wreak havoc on the environment. Poor disposal can lead to:

• The release of hazardous substances such as used oil, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);
• Excess greenhouse gas emissions, including but not limited to carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor; and
• The release of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), which are often found in refrigerants, into the atmosphere.

Appliance recycling covers numerous options available to consumers who are ready to part ways with their old appliances. Here are some of the different ways that you can recycle your old appliances.

Five Ways to Recycle Used Appliances

1) Appliance Resale or Donation

Depending on the condition and efficiency of your appliance, it may be beneficial to donate or sell it second-hand. This includes listing it on a resale site or donating it to a local thrift store or other location that accepts such donations. This option can be great for small appliance recycling, such as toasters or microwaves.

If you pursue this option, keep in mind the energy use/efficiency of your appliances. For example, while “reuse” is a key tenant of sustainability, putting an inefficient appliance back into use can have negative long-term impact, including high energy costs and increased energy use and emissions.

2) Appliance Swaps Through Retailers

If you are purchasing a new appliance for your business or home, you can often request the pickup of your old unit from the retailer. In fact, if you are in the market for a new appliance, large or small, try browsing products from retailers that specifically offer this service. This option streamlines your waste process and ensures that the appliance will be disposed of properly and recycled for parts.

Compressors are used in a range of industrial processes to compress gases. These mechanical devices have a life span of a few hundred hours after which they can become large heavy waste items if sent to landfill. A more cost effective solution is for unwanted or broken compressors to be refurbished for reuse.  All types of compressors can be stripped down and reconditioned to selling standard and may second hand dealers will purchase the old or unwanted compressors, making it an smart economic choice compared to landfill. Reconditioned compressors also provide affordable machinery to the community and reduce the demand for the manufacturing of new parts from virgin materials.

A number of second hand machinery dealers and some scrap metal yards buy and sell secondhand compressors. These services many be offered through pick or a drop-off facility.The compressor is stripped down to its individual components, these are then assessed for wear and tear and all reusable parts are cleaned. Where needed worn and delicate parts such as rings and bearings are replaced with new ones. This ensures that the reused parts will be returned to factory condition and that the compressor when reassembled, will function just like a new unit. The refurbished compressor is then tested for leaks and noise levels to assure performance quality.

Vast quantities of phones, appliances and other electronic waste (e-waste) end up in landfill every day, even though most of it can be recycled.

E-waste can be anything that is no longer needed and plugs into a power point or runs on batteries, including old televisions, refrigerators, lighting and even hearing aids.

Here are five advantages of recycling e-waste:

Recycling e-waste can keep a range of harmful materials out of the environment.

fluorescent tubes and lamps, contains toxic mercury that can leach into waterways when it is thrown into landfill.

The same goes for batteries, which can feature lead, mercury and cadmium.

For example, when a is recycled, the plastic parts and toxic lead are recycled, while the sulphuric acid is neutralised and then converted into sodium sulphate to make fertiliser and detergent.

3. It supports non-renewable recycling

The growing demand for electronic devices and appliances means a range of metals and other non-renewable resources need to be mined and processed.

However, many of the materials used to make smartphones, appliances and other e-waste can be re-used again.

These resources include steel, aluminium, copper and gold — not to mention large amounts of plastic that can be turned into new products.

Recycling e-waste puts these materials back to work after you’re done with your device, while dumping e-waste in landfill means more resources need to be dug up to make your next laptop or TV.

Copper is an extremely sought-after metal for recycling due to its efficiency and durability. It is one of the most profitable types of scrap metal and can easily be found in homes or businesses. From old, outdated appliances and electronics, to plumbing and auto parts, there are many places to find scrap copper quickly and easily. This extremely durable metal is often used for wires as it does not lose its electrical connectivity over time. Unfortunately, this means that it does not break down with regular waste, which doesn’t take advantage of its longevity and needlessly fills up landfills.

Copper can be recycled repeatedly for massive environmental and economic benefits. Copper retains its performance despite being recycled multiple times making it an economical metal for a range of industries. The process of recycling copper not only produces less carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases and requires less energy and effort than the costly process of extracting and refining raw, virgin iron. Using scrap metal to its full capacity by recovering copper and stripping the shielding from cables and wires, benefits businesses, the environment, and you.  

Looking to sell scrap copper in Melbourne?

To sell scrap copper, strip your copper wires of insulation and attachments and bundle them neatly together. By separating the copper wire from other scrap metals, the wiring is easy to transport and weigh which ensures you get the best price from Melbourne’s best metal recyclers.

With over 50 years of metal recycling expertise,Metal Men Recycling provides streamlined scrap metal recycling services to Melbourne. We take all the hard work of sorting and transporting out of the process with our 24-hour pickup service to benefit your business and the environment.

There are lots of ways to recycle your old white goods or even pass them on to be used again if they are still working. White goods are large domestic appliances used for routine chores including fridges, freezers, dishwashers, dryers and air conditioners.

The best options for disposing of your white goods include:

1. Reuse and refurbishment – If they are still in good working condition, you can take your old appliances to second-hand dealers or reuse centres (use the search bar above). You can also donate or sell them on online marketplaces likes Gumtree. This ensures the materials and resources used to make the appliances are kept in use for as long as possible.
2. Company take-back schemes – Some companies offer take-back schemes, or they may offer to take the old goods when they deliver or install the new appliance. The costs of such services are often included in the original purchase price, so do your research to see if your goods are made by a company that will take them back at the ‘end of life’ and if they recycle them.
3. Commercial recyclers – Booking an independent recycler to pick up your old white goods may incur a fee, but it is a hassle-free way to be sure your old appliance won’t end up in a landfill. Some recyclers will also allow you to drop off your old white goods. Use the search bar above to find a recycler near you.
4. Council disposal – You can also register with your local council to have your white goods picked up, but not all councils will recycle them. Check with your council first to see if they send old white goods to a recycler or landfill.

White goods contain significant amounts of metal, plastic, insulating material, refrigerant (gases) and other non-renewable and valuable materials. Recycling keeps these materials in use and out of landfills. It also helps prevent toxic substances such as flame-retardants from entering the environment.

Fridges and freezers must be degassed at their end of life because they contain a refrigerant that is a very harmful greenhouse gas.

White goods sent to reuse centers or second-hand dealers may be donated to someone in need, refurbished for reuse or resold.

To safely recycle a fridge, dishwasher, dryer or other appliances, the hazardous materials inside them such as gases, chemicals or heavy metals need to be removed. The appliance is then crushed or shredded for recycling. Steel, copper and plastics are recovered and reprocessed into new products.

Metals are essential, and versatile, and can be used in a number of ways. Metals can be used for industrial purposes such as manufacturing trucks, cars, airplanes, ships, and railways. They can also be used to manufacture domestic items such as cutlery, crockery, and even packaging. The good thing about metal recycling is that it can be recycled repeatedly without altering its properties.

The most common recyclable metals include aluminum and steel. The other metals, for example, silver, copper, brass, and gold, are so valuable that they are rarely thrown away to be collected for recycling. 

The general rule is that a product needs to be at least 50 percent metal. Even if that metal is surrounded by other materials like plastic, it’s worth recycling if it’s made mostly out of metal.

You may have products with only a small amount of metal, but it’s easy to remove, and separate the metal. For example, a plastic three-ring binder is not scrapped metal, but the metal rings can be easily removed and used.

Scrap metal is classified as either ferrous (containing iron, such as steel) or nonferrous (everything else). The way to identify whether the metal is ferrous or nonferrous is with a magnet. As ferrous metals contain iron, they stick to a magnet; nonferrous metals don’t and are easily pulled out of the mixed waste stream.

After sorting, the next step is to compact or squeeze the metal. All the recycled materials are squeezed and squashed using machines so that they do not occupy so much space in the conveyor belts.

After the crushing and breaking of the metal, the shredding process starts. The metals are broken down into tiny pieces or sheets to allow further processing. The small pieces have a large surface-to-volume ratio that can be melted using less energy as compared to when they are in large pieces of metal. Normally, steel is changed into steel blocks, on the other hand, aluminum is converted into sheets.

Melting of the scrap metal takes place in a large furnace. Each metal is taken to a furnace that is specifically designed to melt that particular metal based on its specific properties. The melting process uses a considerable amount of energy. However, the energy required for melting recycled metal is less compared to the energy required to make metal from its raw material.

The furnace is heated to appropriate degrees capable of melting the particular metal. Melting can take minutes or hours depending on how big the furnace is, the volume of metal placed in the furnace and the heat degree of the furnace.

Over 400 million tonnes of metal is recycled each and every year, processing ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap into valuable secondary raw materials for the smelting of new metals.

Metals suitable for recycling are generally sorted into two separate groups: steel and aluminum. The simplest way to determine the type of metal you have is to conduct a simple magnet test. Steel is magnetic and will stick to a magnet but aluminum is not. Some metal products will feature a symbol

Steel is a major component in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, cars, machines and appliances used across the world.

Aluminum is a similarly popular metal that’s capable of being melted at comparatively lower temperatures than steel, making it particularly attractive for recycling. Sources for recycled aluminium include end-of-life vehicles, aircraft, boats, bicycles, computers, cookware, gutters, siding and electrical wiring.

The economic viability of metal recycling is such that the energy saved by recycling metals needs to be much more than the energy needed to produce new like-for-like metals from ores.

For instance, aluminium cans use just five per cent of the energy needed to produce them from scratch during the recycling process; as well as releasing only five per cent of the amount of greenhouse gases. In fact, just a single recycled aluminium can save enough energy to power an 100-watt bulb for up to four hours.

A lot of the metals we use in our daily lives are in fact mixtures, known as alloys. This can pose a number of issues, most notably impacting the ability to sort different metals ready for recycling. Subsequently, the process of metal recycling is not quite as simple as putting it all together and melting it down.

At ASM Metal Recycling we don’t just take in aluminium and steel for recycling. Take a look at some of the other metals you can scrap with us, with a quick guide as to where you can find these types of metals at home:

• Copper – premium-grade copper can hold up to 95 per cent of the value of the original primary metal itself. Scrap copper wiring can be one of the easiest sources of scrap metal: sourced from the base of televisions and computer monitors; inside laptops and DVD players; within large and small electrical appliances; and in handheld electronics.
• Brass – have you replaced your doorknobs recently? You’ll find that many of today’s doorknobs are made of brass which can pay very well in scrap terms. For instance, if you’ve just changed all the doorknobs in your home and you’ve stored the old doorknobs away, that could add up to a haul of 50kg worth of prime recycling metal!
• Zinc – it’s said the average road vehicle features 10kg worth of zinc in galvanised body parts. End-of-life vehicles can be pulled apart and these parts can be recycled and transformed into like-for-like parts with exactly the same material quality.
• Tin – recycling tin requires 99 per cent less energy than creating it from scratch. A good source for scrap tin at home are old kitchen equipment such as soup ladles, woks and cooking bowls.
• Lead – the use of secondary lead slashes CO2 emissions by 99 per cent. Pre-1970’s houses are likely to have lead water pipes, roof flashings and box gutters. Those working in the construction industry will also encounter lead products on an almost daily basis – usually replacing them with alternative materials. Don’t throw any lead into the skip, no matter how insignificant; it remains very valuable due to its recyclable qualities.

Air conditioners are believed to be one of the essential appliances in Australian homes. In fact, more than 4.6 million households in the country use at least one aircon. But if you think that air conditioners last forever, you’ll be disappointed. A good quality AC can have a lifespan of up to 15 years. But if you bought a cheaper unit and failed to have it routinely serviced, it may die faster than expected.

The good news is that air conditioners are no longer that expensive. Some even have new technologies that can help make your home more comfortable, especially during the summer. Whether you need a replacement or an upgrade

What You Need to Know About Air Conditioners

Air conditioning units and dehumidifiers contain components that are not so friendly to the environment. The most known is a refrigerant. Certain refrigerants, specifically R22, are banned in the country. However, old aircon units can still be used. Those that were manufactured in the 90s generally come with this refrigerant. The Australian Government aims to have R22 entirely eliminated in households and commercial applications by 2030.

R22 is known to cause great damage to the ozone layer. It produces greenhouse gases, which do not contribute to the well-being of humans and animals.

Apart from refrigerants, aircon units also have foam blowing agents, which emit dangerous gases into the atmosphere. Although the Government has introduced efforts to stop the proliferation of these materials

Scrap metals include a number of materials such as aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, cast iron, lead, zinc, and nickel. Recycling scrap metal contributes to a significant saving in greenhouse gas emissions. Making items from recycled aluminum uses just 5% of the energy as making the same item from raw materials. 

• Ferrous metals predominantly contain iron. These metals are magnetic and usually offer little resistance to corrosion. Ferrous metals include wrought iron, steel, and stainless steel.
• Non-ferrous metals do not contain iron and are not magnetic. They usually offer more resistance to corrosion than ferrous metals. Non-ferrous metals include copper, aluminum, lead, zinc and nickel.
• By collecting and processing scrap metal, we reduce the ecological impacts of mining raw materials from the ground and reduce up to 97% of mining wastes.
• Over 50% of the world’s steel production uses recycled scrap metal, making it one of the world’s most recycled materials.

Copper is a reddish color if it is in good condition. If it is a bit worn, it can have a darker brown color with some green rusted areas. Copper is a common material in your home. You may find it as plumbing pipes, roofing materials like gutters, and inside air conditioners. Electrical wires also contain copper; underneath that black or colored plastic insulation is bright-colored copper wire. Copper is one of the most valuable metals to recycle. So, separating it from your other metals can earn you some “pat-on-the-back” money for recycling it at your scrap yar.

Aluminium is often painted, but unpainted, it is a whitish, silver color. It bends easily if it is thin. Aluminium cans are often collected and brought to the scrap yards in bulk.You can find it in many places throughout your house, including gutters, siding, window frames, doors, and more. Recycled aluminum saves 80 percent of the energy that was used to make it originally, so it’s important to recycle this metal.

Brass is yellowish with a hint of red in it and is quite heavy. You can often find brass in hardware like keys, door handles, light fixtures, and bathroom fixtures. Composed of copper and zinc, brass is used often in plumbing fixtures and also at the end of copper piping.

Steel often rusts easily and a magnet will stick to it. Steel is one of the most common metals used throughout the world. You can find in many places, from your car to chairs, shelves, cabinets, and more. Steel is one of the most recycled materials. It can be melted down and reused over and over.