About Metal Recylcing

Celebrating 100 Years of Metal Recycling

A lot has happened in the past 100 years that DeKalb Iron & Metal has been recycling:
  • The United States has elected 18 Presidents since 1918
  • Early 1900’s metal recyclers traded furs and rags for scrap iron to sell
  • In 2018, recyclers, brokers, and mills trade contracts based on commodity markets
  • The U.S. population has grown from 103 Million to 326 Million (www.census.gov)
  • The auto industry has evolved from the Model T Ford (1908) to the Tesla (2003)
  • World World I (Ended 1918) and World War II (Ended 1945) helped re-shape American Manufacturing
  • The states of Hawaii and Alaska were added in 1959
Fun Facts About Metal Recycling (According to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries):
  • The metal recycling industry was a $106 Billion industry in 2015, up from $77 Billion in 2010
  • 135 million metric tons of scrap metal are recycled globally each year
  • Two-thirds of the iron and steel made in the United States is manufactured using ferrous scrap
  • Recycling one ton of aluminum conserves up to five metric tons of bauxite ore (where aluminum comes from) and 14 megawatt hours of electricity
  • Manufacturing with recycling copper saves 90% of the energy it takes to manufacture using virgin metals
  • Recycling one ton of steel conserves 2,500 lbs. of iron ore, 1,400 lbs. of coal, and 120 lbs. of limestone
  • A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf within just 60 days, on average
  • The United States annually recycles enough copper to provide the copper content of more than 25,000 Statues of Liberty
  • On average, the United States processes enough ferrous scrap daily, by weight, to build 25 Eiffel Towers every day of the year
  • Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run your television for three hours
  • The United States annually processes nearly 300 billion lbs. of scrap material – the weight of more than 85 million cars
  • The Gateway Arch in St. Louis used 900 tons of stainless steel in construction
  • One metric ton of electronic scrap from personal computers contains more gold than that recovered from 17 tons of gold ore
  • The United States annually recycles enough ferrous scrap, by weight, to build more than 900 Golden Gate Bridges
Available equipment and services include:
  • Roll-off boxes
  • Lugger boxes
  • Dump Hoppers
  • Steel Totes
  • Barrels
  • Skids
  • Gondola (open top) Trailers
  • Flat Bed Trailers
Our scrap metal recycling customers include:
  • Demolition Contractors
  • Construction Contractors
  • Plumbing, Heating, Electricians
  • Manufacturing
  • Welding and Fabrication Shop
  • Truck & Trailer Repair Shops
  • OEM Assembly Plants
  • Individual Customers