Economic expansion in emerging countries during the next half-century, based on current growth rates and unavoidable population growth, would necessitate a rise in natural resource usage.

The materials used by the industrialized manufacturing sector, on the other hand, cannot magically vanish on their own after a product reaches its shelf life. The most effective way to dispose of them is through recycling. In other words, waste items, in this case, metals, are simply converted into new forms.

Metal recycling is 100% possible and can be used any number of times without losing its value. Recycling is the new wave used in combating the issue of filling landfills and generating income as well as creating jobs.

Metal ores are extracted from the earth’s crust, and every element mined from the earth’s crust is now potentially hazardous trash excluding metals that are already being recycled.

Over time, the amount of recyclable metals in use has increased, and specialized technologies and markets for them have emerged. Given that most people associate recycling with dealing with trash, it’s becoming evident that it’s also a strategy to safeguard the environment.

Metal recycling keeps these metals out of landfills, where their toxicity poses major health threats to soil and water. Metal recycling, on the other hand, has a lot to do with conserving natural resources and lowering our energy use.

Metal recycling from an economic point of view

Some of these metals are in high demand and very profitable. Recycling companies can pay huge sums for them thereby empowering pickers in developing counties, as well as creating jobs for the unemployed.

Africa is expanding. The continent’s population, which currently stands at 1.2 billion people, is predicted to increase by 800 million to 2 billion by 2040. As recycling has become a thing, recycling companies are emerging both for packaging, collectors, and final buyers, and the market is growing rapidly and attracting investors and foreign buyers.

Metal recycling is another way of reducing landfills thereby removing danger from the landfills, when the landfill is spacious, lands can be preserved for other use.

Growing Africa’s metal recycling industry

Despite the growing market of metal recycling, there is still work to be done to ensure that it continues to grow and improve the economy and opportunities for the unemployed.

One of the first things that can be done to develop the metal recycling industry is awareness creation. The general public needs to know that the metals they call waste can actually fetch them a sum only if they recycle.

Additionally, there is a need to train the pickers on how to collect metals and separate them, where they can sell them and how they can collect them. Pay them enough as most collectors are the poor in the society but these can be a lucrative opportunity if well carried out.

Even more important, governments should invest in metal recycling and encourage startups that are operating in the space. Local markets should be created so buyers can save money on importation and metal recycling industries can as well export products from metals.