Standardized identification

Recycling metal is essential because it reduces the amount of scrap bound for landfills and reduces the need to mine ores, but it’s not necessarily the reason scrap processors started their businesses. Many processors began their businesses to make a profit, and the scrap metal industry provides individuals and companies with the opportunity for significant earnings.

To make a profit, scrap processors need to be able to identify metals and access skills training. Scrap University helps people who enroll in its courses to become masters at identifying and grading materials.

I worked in different positions at various scrap yards before starting Scrap University with my partner, Brad Rudover. When I was new to the industry, I realized identifying and grading scrap metal was a real challenge, and I had to do my homework to educate myself on the various grades to perform my job better.

I also realized I was not the only person uncertain about all the different metal grades. When talking to others in the industry, I would hear comments like, “We’ve always wanted an education program for scrap grades,” and “The most common concerns I hear from yard owners is the lack of training and high turnover.”

Scrap University launched in 2020 in response to these concerns. The online platform is designed to be a resource for scrap processors to educate their employees.

Until now, it has been a challenge to access this kind of training. We started Scrap University to remove barriers by sharing information comprehensively and transparently to improve the entire industry through an online training and certification program.

We created the Certified Scrap Metal Professional (CSMP) program to establish a standard industry education. We recognize the steep learning curve to understanding most grades of scrap metal and the corresponding upgrades. The learning process is intimidating, especially without accurate and accessible information, leading to grading errors and limited work opportunities. Our hope is that a standardized training program will bridge the knowledge gap.

While we recognized businesses need to maximize profitability, that wasn’t the driving factor behind starting an online educational platform. Profit alone isn’t always the driving factor for scrap processors. Sharing knowledge helps raise the industry, which is the ultimate purpose for Scrap University and its faculty members.

Making the information accessible and easily digestible became one of our priorities. Helping others with the challenges I had when I started in the industry was a goal I could get behind.

The need for training

Chris Costanza II, general manager at stainless steel recycler Cronimet Corp., Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, also serves as one of Scrap University’s professors.

“To be able to identify different metals properly is at the core of what we do,” Costanza says. “One doesn’t want to throw away margin or miss a possible upgrade to make more money because they didn’t know or weren’t aware of the material they had,” he adds.

Costanza says his concerns aren’t just for his company—they also extend to the mills that Cronimet supplies.

“Here at Cronimet, we blend different grades of stainless steel and other nickel alloys when sourcing material for the steel mills we supply,” he says. “If a certain element is off by even the smallest percent, it can ruin the entire melt. That is why proper metal identification is of the utmost importance to ensure accurate chemistries.”

Costanza grew up working for his family’s scrapyard, and in that setting he learned all the nuances of the industry from a young age. However, he recognizes that someone with zero experience can find learning the different grades of scrap metal a daunting task. “A program like Scrap University is important and such a value-add to our industry and its businesses,” Costanza says.

Costanza continues, “Standardized training is so important so that no matter where one was trained or by whom, everyone can understand the scrap language the other is speaking. New hires can plug and play into any operation more seamlessly.”

Nick Snyder, chief marketing officer at Idaho-based United Metals Recycling, is another professor who volunteers his time for Scrap University. He says he wants to minimize the adverse effects of improper identification and grading.

“I feel that having a team of people who know how to grade out all the different types of scrap metal is a must,” Snyder says. “For example, if one of your employees grades the material wrong when bought, it has multiple negative effects. First, it could be put in the wrong area for the production team. Second, it could be getting paid out incorrectly and, because of this, either the scrap yard or the customer will be getting hurt.”

He adds, “I’ve always been willing to teach anyone anything I have learned. I love teaching people things, and the more everyone knows around me, the stronger company we are.”

Snyder says his desire to share information about metals identification also stems from a need for sustainability.

“With electric and hydrogen cars coming into the picture, our need for copper as a society will increase dramatically,” he says. “An electric/hydrogen car has about 100 to 200 pounds of copper per car versus the traditional 20 to 30 pounds in a combustible engine vehicle. It costs a lot less money and is better for the environment if we can help supply this through recycled copper.”

Part of providing adequate supply means having trained employees. Snyder says everyone in the company performs better with good training.

“A good training program for your current and new employees is essential,” he says. “The quicker you can get your new hires up to speed will only benefit the individual and the company. I believe it will save companies lots of time and money. Not to mention an employee who knows what they are doing will be more confident and happier.”

Grading advice

When I first started, I was at the truck scale. It was overwhelming trying to decide which of the few steel grades an incoming load could be.

To someone new to the industry, “metal” might seem like an all-encompassing category. Recycling programs can feed into that narrative, as we often are asked to place all metals in the same bin. Once a new employee starts at a scrap yard, he or she might feel overwhelmed about the level of segregation that needs to occur among different grades.

To the untrained eye, it’s very easy to confuse tin for aluminum or stainless steel—but that is a costly mistake. Although yards segregate the ferrous from the nonferrous material, this is little help when trying to separate aluminum from stainless steel. While tin and aluminum are shiny and silvery in color, tin always will stick to a magnet and typically is heavier than aluminum.

Another common mistake employees need to be aware of is shellac on aluminum transformer windings. Shellac has an orange shade and at times can be mistaken for copper. Knowing that the coating easily can be scratched away to reveal the aluminum underneath can save a scrap yard employee from making that costly identification mistake.  

Scrap University professors also have recognized several misconceptions new hires tend to run into when learning different metals grades.

Faizel Jaffer, owner and trader at Western Pacific Trading & Recycling, Burnaby, British Columbia, says his company handles many transformers and it can be challenging to get his staff to correctly identify the different types: copper, copper/aluminum and aluminum.

“It is important to identify them correctly as the price of each type is very different,” Jaffer says. “Also, the country that likes to buy the copper transformer cores usually is different from the country that wants to buy the aluminum cores. So, shipping the wrong type to the wrong country would obviously be a problem.”

He continues, “Standardized training will result in fewer claims when the transformer cores get overseas. The end consumer feels confident to come back and buy more from the supplying yard.”

Scrapyard employees can learn these tips and more in the CSMP program, which gives students a commodities identification foundation. We know nothing can take the place of hands-on learning but supplementing that with an online training platform provides a base understanding for workers before they head into the yard. Scrap University’s students always are encouraged to visit the scrapyard in between lessons to gain the maximum value from the course.

It has been gratifying to hear scrap industry professionals are benefiting from our training program. Some companies are using it as their main onboarding tool, and some have said it has helped them to cut down on training time and costs.

Sharing knowledge raises industry expectations and empowers everyone in the industry. Standardizing training overall will elevate the industry and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Kate Fraser is the CEO and co-founder of the Scrap University training program. She can be reached at kate@scrapuniversity.com, or visit www.scrapuniversity.com for more information.