Why Is It Important to Recycle Scrap Ammo?

What is Scrap Ammo?

Ammo is short for ammunition. Scrap pieces of ammunition refers to unwanted or expired ammo. It is very important to learn how to properly recycle scrap ammo. To fully understand what ammo is, one must be familiar with the different parts:

With countless pieces of ammunition being used every day, it is vital to understand how to recycle scrap ammo. Recycling brass shell casings helps the environment by reusing valuable material and keeping it out of landfills. The process of recycling scrap brass cartridges is quick and easy. Now that scrap ammo has been discussed, it is critical to be familiar with the recycling process.

Recycling Brass Shell Casings

The process of recycling brass shell casings consists of:

  1. Scrap brass ammo being categorized by material. Shell alloys are commonly made from brass, aluminum or steel. They can also contain chrome, nickel, silver or gold.
  2. After this, the shell must be discarded.
  3. Next, the shells are “popped” in hot kiln. This will make the live pieces of scrap brass cartridges
  4. After the recycler places the shells in a secured area to cool, a quality control supervisor inspects the scrap.
  5. The recycler then cleans the shells. These cleaners rinse the shells to get rid of excess lead and dirt.
  6. Inspectors run the clean and “popped” shells through a shaker table. This tells them what still needs to be removed.
  7. Following this, a hammer mill or shredder takes the shells and breaks them into smaller pieces. Then an aggregator machine takes these pieces and loads them for transport.
  8. Lastly, the recycler takes the shells to a brass mill to melt, combine, and mix them with metallic elements to obtain a certain combination. This makes it possible to form the shells into rod or ingot.

Ammunition must be stationary when it is recycled. If the ammo is live, this could cause an explosion. The lead slug in live ammo contaminates the shell’s brass which makes it difficult for recyclers to separate lead and brass. We buy scrap brass ammo from anywhere in the U.S. Because of transport fees, recycling shells that are further away could pose an issue. However, we are willing to work with any situation that may arise. One may start asking the question, “Where do I take my scrap brass shells to be recycled safely?” We offer the best scrap brass shells disposal services.

Why is it Important to Recycle Scrap Ammo?

Manufacturers produce thousands of tons of scrap every day. Because many individuals are unaware of the fact that certain material – such as scrap brass cartridges – can be recycled, these shells end up in occupying space in landfills. Live scrap brass ammo could even cause an explosion. However, we buy scrap metal such as ammo and reuses it. We find shell housing with low degree of aluminum and manganese bronze and reuses these pieces of scarp brass cartridges. This not only reuses valuable material, but overall has a positive impact on the environment.

With several individuals being unaware of the fact that they can recycle scrap brass ammo, these resources are wasted and increase our environment footprint. However, we will purchase scrap metal and reuse its’ valuable materials.

For more information on recycling brass shell casings, click here to contact us.