Blog

Cordless power tools are convenient but battery packs present a fire hazard for scrap yard owners.

Lithium-ion batteries are one of the most persistent fire risks in scrapyards. Most operators are well aware of the common culprits: laptops, cell phones, and power tools. But just as often, batteries show up tucked inside less obvious items and when they get missed, they can end up in your shred pile, waiting to ignite.

Some of these items are small and hidden. For example, electronic toothbrushes, vape pens, and wireless earbuds all contain lithium cells, but their small size makes them easy to overlook. Even everyday greeting cards with built-in music or lights can hide a thin lithium battery that can ignite when punctured.

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Screenshot from Aurubis Richmond company video

Aurubis AG, one of the largest copper recyclers worldwide, announced the opening of its Aurubis Richmond (Augusta, GA) facility September 24, 2025.

According to the company press release, it’s the first U.S. multimetal recycling and smelter plant of its kind. The facility, already in operation, is producing key strategic metals such as copper, nickel, tin, and precious metals, for American manufacturers.

Naveed Moghadam, Commercial Director at Aurubis, stated at ReMA’s September 2025 Copper Roundtable that the company wants to be a first mover against its competition.

“We see the U.S. as a key and growing market where development is happening,” Moghadam said. “We invested in the site because we wanted to be one of the first players to support manufacturing being reshored to North America.”

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We have a customer with a 15 yard batch feeder available.  This large capacity, slow speed conveyor is suitable to slowly feed fluff/ASR or bulky material into any processing line.  Drive motor is 15 HP.  

$40,000 available for immediate shipment.

Screenshot

One of our customers is selling a 30 MW gas turbine power generator that has become excess equipment.

UPDATE 11/11/2025 this unit has been sold

This unit is useful for –

• Electricity in a remote location
• Cogeneration
• Economy where grid supplied power is costly or unreliable
• Mining Crypto
• Backup power for large facilities

General Electric Gas Turbine Model MS5001 PA DLN & 30 MW Generator

2014 Manufacture. New, never installed. Properly stored in the USA.
Full Metallic Enclosures. Natural Gas fuel.
Turbine
– API 616 Gas Turbine for Petroleum, Chemical, & Gas Industry
– Fuel – Gas
– Starting Induction Motor 600hp

– Rated 40,000 kVA
– Output 30,000 kW
– pf 0.75 4 pole, 3p 13,800V 1674A 60Hz 1800 RPM
– TEWAC Totally enclosed water cooled

Serious Inquires only.  Located in the Continental USA.

One question we’re asked repeatedly by yard owners or managers: Should they consider adding solar to unused land attached to their yard. By solar, people mean the panel installations you see tucked into small unused plots of land that abut roads, interstates, and farms. Solar installations can also be found on capped landfills.

Adding a solar installation sounds good. Similar to adding solar panels to your home’s roof, the upside means you pay less for electricity and can charge your EV, should you own one. It also means you can store what you don’t use or sell your electricity to the local utility. Win-win-win.

But, installing solar on unused land in your recycling yard involves several considerations, including the acreage you have available, if it’s suitable for an installation, and if the ROI is greater than the start-up costs and ongoing maintenance.

Most important is your location. If you live in the Northeast, you’ll have to contend with shorter days in winter, snow, clouds, etc. Or, you live in a state that (so far) has few solar installations but could use the energy yours would generate.

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In case you missed it, ReMA published its 2023 Yearbook in February 2024 (download the PDF). The Yearbook replaced the ISRI Factbook, which we relied on to provide vital statistics about our industry, including the major importing and exporting countries for steel and iron, aluminum, copper, and stainless.

After considerable research by our team, we discovered current data for metal recycling is difficult to find and assemble; official U.S. data points are through the end of 2023.

The Yearbook, therefore, provides a good overview of the industry — with the caveat that things are rapidly changing.

For up-to-date news, we recommend visiting the ReMA website — members can log in to view trade and other info. We also recommend reading industry journals, such as Metals Recycling. Hopefully, ReMA will publish its 2024 Yearbook within the next couple of months.

The data presented by ReMA provides many positive signs and trends for our industry. All stats listed below are end of 2022 unless otherwise noted.

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“I just took over an aging shredder. How do I determine if I need a new rotor and how much life is left in it?”

Good question! First, compare the original condition to the current condition. Try to find the rotor arrangement drawing, which came with the shredder when it was new or when the replacement rotor was purchased. This drawing should show disk thickness and key dimensions.

✔️ Check that the tie rods are still holding the rotor tightly together
Measure the outside-outside end disk distance across the rotor. If it’s growing an inch or more, the spread can mean loose or broken tie rods or loose or missing end disk nuts. A loose rotor will have limited life.

✔️ Look at rotor disk thickness and edge wear
Monitor the disks diameter indirectly, by tracking the distance between hammer pin hole and edge of the disk.

✔️ Monitor disk thickness and “wash out” around the hammer swinging area about the pin hole.

✔️ Check bearing bolts for tightness and bearing housings for damage
Clean up debris and keep bearing areas clear.

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We have a Hagglunds Marathon MA283 drive motor available for sale.  The rebuilt unit is packed and in storage.

Domestic consumption of copper currently stands at 1.5 million metric tons per year. U.S. mining accounted for 1.3 million tons.

Old (post-consumer) scrap, converted to refined metal, alloys, and other forms, provided an estimated 160,000 tons of copper in 2022, and an estimated 670,000 tons of copper was recovered from new (manufacturing) scrap derived from fabricating operations.

“Of the total copper recovered from scrap, brass and wire-rod mills accounted for approximately 85%; smelters, refiners, and ingot makers, 10%; and chemical plants, foundries, and miscellaneous manufacturers, 5%. Copper recovered from scrap contributed 32% of the U.S. copper supply. (Source for all data: USGS – see link below).

Although the U.S. has enough copper reserves and resources to meet current demand, geopolitical and logistical risks can disrupt copper supply – for example, a disruption to a key route, such as the Panama Canal, could wreak havoc. Currently, the U.S. imports 44% of its refined copper, according to Recycling Today.

As discussed in “Spotlight on Copper,” a 2023 ISRI (now ReMA) moderated panel discussion, in order to meet copper demand, the U.S. must retain its copper scrap versus exporting it. (See our 2023 write up of the discussion.)

That was then, this is now. According to projections in an August 2024 S&P Global report, U.S. copper demand is expected to more than double – to 3.5 million metric tons – by 2035. This demand represents a 112% increase or a compounded annual growth rate of 6.5%.

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Infrared Camera Side Mount on Scrap Metal Shredder Feed Chute — a K2 Castings project.

To ensure the best possible throughput, your shredder operator needs the best possible view of the material entering the shredder. It’s why you’ll often see shredder control cabs mounted to a tower; the set up allows the operator to peer into the infeed and get the last possible glimpse of the feedstock before it enters the shredder.

The view from this point of entry allows your operator to adjust the feed to keep the shredder operating right in the sweet spot. Too slow of a feed and you’re giving up productivity, too fast and you risk jams and incomplete shredding.

It’s tempting to place your operator’s chair as close to the mouth of the shredder as possible, and while this position gives the operator the most direct view, one can achieve just as much, if not more, with cameras.

When properly located, a camera can give your operator a near direct view down the throat of your shredder. Additionally, close-up views of the output can give him the information he needs to produce the highest quality shred, as well as knowing when the hammers need replacement.

Not only that, but FLIR cameras, properly utilized, can give your operator a view through the steam produced in a shredder with water injection, while also giving him an intuitive sense for the temperature of the machinery, without the need to be staring at dials.

Additional reading on the K2 blog: Infrared Camera Positions for Shredder Infeed.