• Moisture
• Plastics, Plastic Film, Widgets & Rubber
• Paper & Cardboard
• Glass
• Dirt, Rocks & Sand
• Iron & Steel
• Lead
• Other Non-Ferrous Metals and WEEE

Iron & Steel

Problems caused by iron & steel:

• Damage to shredding machinery, causing downtime.
• The UBC recycling process has a magnetic separator to prevent high levels of iron entering the melt. However, the extracted iron and steel is material, which has been paid for as if aluminium, but is not recoverable in the final product.
• Aluminium can body alloy has a maximum tolerance for iron of 0.54%. Ferrous metals contaminate the can sheet alloy and high purity metal and alloying ingredients need to be added to return the metal to specification, causing costly production delays.
• Stray iron and steel objects are dangerous to employees and equipment [Note: Aluminium aerosols have a steel end, which are also removed at the magnetic separator and represent another commercial loss].

How to avoid contamination from iron & steel:

For more advice on reducing contamination, see Quality Matters: Earn More From Your Deliveries.