How Scrap Metal Dealers Protect Themselves & The Environment

published – May 16th 2022

In the past, you may have heard of (or even seen) workers wearing protective gear and following safety protocols on the job. More often than not, haulers take similar measures. This is done for good reason as dealing with scrap metal for money can cause injury to yourself and others in several different ways.

welder How Scrap Metal Dealers Protect Themselves & The Environment protection health safety earn work jobs make money sell selling — photo by JonKline from pixabay

Clothing & Accessories

While working, I would play it safe by wearing coveralls or old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Sometimes scrap metal can have oil and other fluids dripping from it which I imagine you don’t want to get on you.

In addition, I recommend wearing a decent pair of steel-capped boots or something similar. Clearly, a heavy object falling on or cutting into your foot will really hurt. Take the necessary health and safety precautions with your (especially when handling them).

Wear a pair of thick gloves as you take the risk of getting hurt during the removal process when handling jagged items with bare hands. This can lead to infections such as tetanus which will require you to get an injection from a medical professional.

When dealing with small fragments, the smart thing to do is to wear a pair of protective goggles as these tiny pieces can damage your vision if they get in your eyes.

Face masks and breathing apparatus are advisable too as you won’t have to inhale harmful fumes from certain scrap metals or when dealing with asbestos.

Scrap Metal Health & Safety

Scrappers run the risk of receiving electric shocks given that they are often dealing with complicated machines and appliances so be careful. Beware of the toxicity of certain items such as lead and take the proper precautions in order to protect yourself and others.

Scrap Metal Security

If you do decide to one day establish your own yard then you need to concentrate on securing your business. Is stealing quite common near me in my local area?

Having valuable metal stored on your business premises will make you a target for theft. If your business becomes really successful then you may want to think about employing a security guard along with:

surveillance cameras
barb wire fences
alarm system
any other security precautions you can think of

The Environment

Scrap metal donations for sale are a great way of recycling your old metal in order to protect the environment and preserve the world for future generations.

As well as making money, you will be recycling and repurposing metal that would otherwise have been thrown out adding to the world’s environmental problems. Rather than simple disposal, recycling also:

reduces greenhouse gases and carbon emissions (as they are the byproduct of producing new virgin metals)
saves the earth’s limited resources used to create metals such as water and coal
reduces mining costs
decreases air and water pollution
boosts general worldwide sustainability
reduces the burden on landfill sites

power station How Scrap Metal Dealers Protect Themselves & The Environment protection health safety earn work jobs make money sell selling — photo by stevepb from pixabay

The physical harm caused by working in this industry shouldn’t just be shrugged off nonchalantly. It is a serious matter not only affecting the scrap metal collector but also the wider world around them. As a guide, environmental concerns and the safety of your recycling service are both things to be taken into account.

Sometimes there are even laws that dictate how dealers conduct health and safety in this market. You can learn more about different legislation around this industry as you discover How The Law Can Decimate The Profits Of Scrap Metal Dealers.

Are there any other safety precautions that you think dealers can take? How else do you think scrap metal dealing for cash can benefit the environment? Please don’t forget to share this with your friends and like it on social media. You can subscribe to our newsletter and comment below too. Thanks for reading!