Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered metals, and non-metallic materials are also recovered for recycling. Once collected, the materials are sorted into types — typically metal scrap will be crushed, shredded, and sorted using mechanical processes.
Piles of scrap metal collected for the World War II effort, circa 1941
Collection of leftover scrap metal items
The "organized chaos" of a scrapyard
British police investigating possibly-stolen metal at a scrapyard
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.
Inside a British factory, a textile worker rakes newly-made 'shoddy' which was then combined with new wool to make new cloth
American poster from World War II
British poster from World War II
Poster from wartime Canada, encouraging housewives to "salvage"
