Scrap Metal Recycling Practices
CIM's Scrap Metal Recycling Facility
As builders and other businesses in the area strive to achieve LEED certification, Colorado Iron & Metal, Inc. is making it easier for them by hauling off their excess building and scrap metal. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has many requirements for certification - all aimed at increasing energy efficiency and raising environmental design standards. One of the easier LEED requirements to satisfy, recycling excess metal, is made downright simple with Colorado Iron & Metal, Inc.
All you have to do is walk in, drop off your junk metal, and get paid for it. If you have bulk scrap, Colorado Iron & Metal, Inc. also provides roll-off and container services, complete with pick-up, to haul the metal for you. From 90-yard containers to open-top trailers, they've got what it takes to handle any job. All you have to do is collect the scrap and watch your recycling "cents" grow.
You see, there's money to be made in scrap metal recycling. Colorado Iron & Metal, Inc. buys scrap metal from area businesses and then sells it for reuse. It's a hole in one. Everybody wins, including the environment. Instead of our customers sending excess metal building material to the landfill, we recycle it for them.
Kent Garvin operates the Fort Collins Scrap Metal Recycling Location with his two nephews, Dan and Marty Garvin. Recycling scrap metal is their passion and there's a big market for their product. "Often times the recyclable value of debris will fund the entire operation to divert recyclables out of build sites and landfills," says Garvin. "And we have a lot of fun with it," adds Dan Garvin.
The scrap metal they collect gets recycled, minimally processed, and repackaged at their shop. The metal is then sold to brokers in Denver, who sell it to steel mills where it gets melted down to its original form for reuse. Once that happens, it's used again for a multitude of purposes. "Some of the recycled metal is used domestically, but a lot of it is exported to places like China and Japan to build infrastructure," says Garvin. "The important thing is that it's being used again.
The world's supply of iron and metal is not limitless. Just like other natural non-renewable resources, it will one day be scarce. "The earth is running out of natural resources, so we need to reuse them or they'll be gone," Dan Garvin says. "Our goal is to conserve natural resources through metal recycling."
That's certainly good news for the Larimer County Landfill. Less is more when it comes to waste. And that's precisely why Landfill Manager Robert Nielsen is a loyal customer of Colorado Iron & Metal. Nielsen tells us the 40-yard container he uses to collect recyclable "white goods" gets picked up twice a week. Appliances like refrigerators, washers, and dryers are thrown in the container, along with scrap metal, copper wiring, and other metal waste. "You'd be surprised how many refrigerators and washers we get up here," he says. "Now, instead of throwing them in the landfill, we can recycle them."
Nielsen used to contract with Denver recycling companies for this kind of work, but was happy to give the business to a local company. "We like to deal locally whenever possible," says Nielsen. "Plus, they give us a better price for the metal. The price of steel has gone up quite a bit recently, so everybody wins."
While the main business of Colorado Iron & Metal, Inc. is recycling, the most important resource they deal with is their people. Garvin says the success of Colorado Iron & Metal is due to his employees. "Our business is borne on the backs of our employees," he says. "Without them, we couldn't have enjoyed such success."
News Article was written by Allie Comeau and featured in Lydia's Style Magazine in 2008.
