Globe Metal recycles hazardous AM waste

Globe Metal, a Canadian company that has been servicing traditional industrial manufacturing accounts for over 40 years, has introduced an additive manufacturing waste recycling service – helping reduce the environmental and financial impact of hazardous waste generated from the AM industry.

With the relatively recent shift from conventional metal manufacturing methods, such as machining and progressive stamping, to high-speed laser cutting and additive manufacturing, Globe Metal has made the market-driven decision to begin servicing more and more additive manufacturing companies.

Some of the wastes that Globe Metal is currently recycling include common materials such as titanium and titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, cobalt-based alloys, tool steels, nickel-based alloys, stainless steels, copper alloys, and precious metal alloys like gold, platinum, palladium, and silver.

According to Globe Metal, many industries view metal powders as waste products – and the company’s goal is to change that outlook. Metal powders are often destined for landfills, because they are considered hazardous, challenging to handle, and expensive to transport. Something especially true of sludges – due to the high water content.

However, the way Globe Metal sees it is that – just because metal powders are considered hazardous, it does not mean they are not recyclable. With this in mind, there is a huge opportunity to capitalize on the many companies generating secondary metals and metal by-products that are classified as hazardous wastes and are incurring enormous disposal costs through traditional landfilling.

Countering these disposal costs, Globe Metal provides significantly more affordable hazardous metal waste recycling and disposal solutions – what the company calls ‘a one-stop metal recycling solution’. Within this solution, the company handles mixed materials in compliance with all required permits, and provides documentation and proof of recycling and destruction – helping companies avoid costly fines and investigations.

Globe Metal’s hazardous waste services include waste auditing, metal testing and analysis, logistics, metal reclamation, recycling, disposal, and suggestions for on-site waste handling and management.