There are plenty of great reasons to start metal recycling in Houston: it helps the environment by keeping waste out of landfills and saving natural resources. Not to mention that recycling metal also reduces energy consumptions and decreases the pollution which can lead to water contamination. There is one more bonus to metal recycling that is rarely discussed though: recycling metal does not contribute to global warming like extracting new metal does. But how does that work?

Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases

You may not have noticed, but the earth is getting warmer. The overwhelming majority of scientists agree that our atmosphere and ocean systems have gotten approximately 1.4 degrees Farenheit warmer over the past century. That may not seem like much, but a small shift in average temperatures like this can lead to radical and destructive weather patterns.

There are several reasons behind global warming, one of the primary ones being the increasing release of greenhouse gases by human activities. Greenhouse gases are any gas that absorb and emit radiation at the thermal red range. These gases get trapped in the atmosphere and block heat from escaping from the Earth’s surface. Instead, heat is deflected back to the surface, creating a heating effect. The most common greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Many of these gases are released in the burning of fossil fuels.

How Does Metal Recycling in Houston Slow Global Warming?

Recycling metal does not require nearly as much energy as forming metal from virgin ore. Melting down old metal to form new metal doesn’t require the burning of a lot of fossil fuels so you simply don’t produce as many greenhouse gases as you would if you were extracting new metal.

Considering the terrible air quality in Houston, metal recycling would greatly reduce contamination and contribute to an important global effort to combat global warming.

If you are considering starting up an initiative for metal recycling in Houston, please call Gulf Coast Scrap Metal at 713-868-4111 or follow us on Twitter @GulfCoastScrap.