Which Precious Metal Investments Cause the Least Environmental Harm?
Do you invest in precious metals? Are you concerned about harming the environment?
If you answered yes to those questions, let’s start today’s post with a general observation . . .
The closer your source is to a mine, the more environmental damage you are going to do
That makes sense, right? After all, mining is a dirty business, even when the company that does it tries to protect the environment. Mining usually hurts forests, pollutes surrounding streams and groundwater, releases exhaust gases into the air, disrupts the lives of nearby animal life, and worse. So from that, it follows logically that obtaining precious metals from recycled sources does less harm to the environment, even though mines might have been the primary source of those metals several generations ago.
Every ounce of gold, silver, platinum or other precious metal that you reclaim from scrap is an ounce that doesn’t have to be mined. So if you respect the environment, recycle.
But What about the Damage Done by Recycling?
The more astute readers of this post might observe, “But what about the environmental damage done by recycling?” And if you thought about that problem, you are correct. After all, most all recycling operations generate waste that must be correctly disposed of, and cause pollutants to be released into the air.
However, Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners has the technology needed to contain any gases and pollutants that are released, and to prevent them from entering into outside air. And we dispose of byproducts using protocols that are fully approved by the EPA and state and local laws regulations.
Cleanest Sources of Precious Metals
While no source of precious metals does zero environmental damage, smart recycling comes very close.
Here are some sources of precious metals that do very little harm to the environment if we recycle them for you . . .
Spent sputtering targets that have outlived their useful life in plating operations
Silver that is found in old tableware, decorative items, photo and x-ray films and processing chemicals, and ink
Gold-plated and gold jeweler’s scrap
Gold from old printed circuit boards reclaimed from electronic devices
Platinum-family metals reclaimed from catalytic converters
Platinum filters and sponges that were used in plating operations
Concerned about the Environment?
If you want to be sure that your precious metal investments are doing very little or no environmental damage, call your local precious metals recycler – Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners – at 800-426-2344. We are all about providing you prompt payment for your precious metal holdings. But that’s not all. We are all about the environment too.
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