Recycling precious metals is an important environmental protection task. Precious metal recycling is not limited to old jewelry disposition these days. Many precious metals firms extract or recycle metals from batteries, circuit boards, or even X-ray materials. Precious metals recycling businesses want to preserve the environment in their communities. It is possible to simultaneously convert precious metals scrap into money and support a clean environment.
Contact a precious metals recycling firm that specializes in a particular metal. The requirements to extract gold, silver, or platinum differ. Some precious metals recycling firms allow sellers to mail materials for evaluations. Learn more about how to recycle precious metals in a convenient and environmentally-responsible manner.
Precious Metals Recycling Ideas
• Many jewelry design firms purchase recyclable precious gold and silver. Most pay cash for the metals according to purity and weight. Some businesses help owners to redesign new jewelry by recasting old precious metals.
• Some precious metal recycling firms welcome computer keyboards manufactured before 1995 because gold was used to make them. Since most computer keyboards of this age are no longer used in daily computing, recycle these keyboards if at all possible. (Note: Newer keyboards were manufactured with almost no gold.)
• Old catalytic converters can yield platinum. Make sure to recycle any old catalytic converters from scrap cars.
• Even silver or gold-plated household items should be recycled. Older gold or silver-plated flatware may yield significant precious metals.
Urban Environmental Protection
Reputable precious metals recyclers in the greater New York City area must comply with the Department of Environmental Protection of New York City. According to research performed at Columbia University, most of the gold stores on earth are already above group.
Active precious metals recycling is a highly efficient and environmentally-friendly activity. Precious metals may be recycled again and again. Safe melting and recasting of the silver, gold, or platinum is all that is required.
Precious Metals Mining
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says that only slightly more than 171,000 tons of gold have been mined in the history of the world. Mining efforts to extract more gold continue. Approximately 3,000 tons of gold are mined each year.
Gold mining and the mining of other precious metals is bad for the environment. Twenty tons of toxic waste are generated for every four grams of gold. Toxic chemicals used to mine gold, such as mercury and cyanide, pollute the air and water. (USGS says that gold mining is the top cause of mercury pollution.)
Conclusion
Mining precious metals is not an eco-friendly practice. Toxic waste by-products from gold, silver, and platinum mining activities harm the planet. The best solution to precious metals recycling is already in place.