MSU Surplus Scrap Metal Program

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) estimates that in 2007, 95 million metric tons of scrap metal were recycled last year in the US. Here at the MSU Surplus Store, we have recently started an initiative to increase and promote metal recycling on campus. We have been gradually increasing the amount, type and services associated with the recycling of metals. In our first year we were able to recycle 1.1 million pounds of scrap metal.

The advent of the MSU Surplus Stores scrap metal program can be attributed mainly to two factors, the increasing value of metals and the environmental benefits of scrap recycling. There has been a dramatic increase in the price of scrap metal over the past few years. The rise in scrap prices has been mostly due to demand outpacing supply. Scrap metal is proccessed and then used for manufacturing new products. Currently recycled scrap accounts for 40 percent of global raw material for manufacturing. As the demand for raw materials has increased worldwide, the cost of scrap metal has followed increasing the incentive to recycle scrap materials.

 Levi Dysinger dismantling a rotor for the MSU Surplus Store Scrap Metal Program.

The second major benefit for scrap mental recycling is the energy saved by using recycled materials vs. virgin ore. For example, recycled scrap metal uses far less energy then processing new virgin ore (Source):

• 95% less for aluminum
• 85% less for copper
• 74% less for iron and steel

In addition to the energy savings, recycling scrap metal also helps keep waste out of landfills by making new products out of obsolete or nonfunctional metal goods.

The MSU Surplus Store recycles various types of metals including aluminum, copper, cast iron, brass, and steel. These types of metal come from products such as oil filters, power cables, telephone lines, air conditioners, batteries, keys, and many more. Most of these items are collected as surplus items from across the university campus. The bulk of the metal processed through the MSU Surplus Store is shredder scrap which consists of mixed materials that are separated through processing at the scrap metal processing facility. This accounts for around 92% of the metal processed at MSU Surplus based on weight. The other 8% is scrap metal which has been sorted by the raw material the item was manufactured out of. These sorted metals have greater value and account for around 65% of the revenues from scrap metal processing. Gradually we are improving our ability to process these materials to increase the revenues we are able to give back to MSU departments.

Currently we offer a number of different opportunities for departments to gather their scrap metals. We have a "Blue Barrel Program" which provides departments with a collection bin for their metals that can be picked up by MSU Surplus and taken for processing. We also offer onsite services for removal of large or specialty items which we can cut and torch into a more manageable size. This also allows for the separation of different types of metal which greatly increases potential revenue. Pictued above is a 20,000 pound rotor which had a copper inner core. We removed the outer covering allowing us to turn the copper core in to the scrap metal plant for maximum revenue. Finally, we offer Freon Removal services for refrigerators, freezers, air conditions and other lab equipment. This program both ensures that the freon is properly disposed of as well as generates revenue from the metals used to manufacture these items.