UW-Oshkosh Research Benefits Metal Recycling Company

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Wisconsin-based Sadoff Iron & Metal Company has offered scrap metal recycling for more than 70 years. It collects non-ferrous metals and ferrous scrap, auto salvage, electronics recycling, and other materials at multiple sites in Wisconsin and Nebraska. Sadoff then provides ISO-certified recycled metal to steel mills and local foundries.

The company prides itself on its sustainable practices, but it has a costly challenge. When rainwater falls into the metal collection containers, it becomes contaminated by oils and other fluids on the metals. Sadoff pays by the gallon for the contaminated water to be hauled away and treated before being safely released into the environment.

Could there be a way to treat the water on site so it would be clean enough to meet sanitary requirements for discharging it into the city sewer system? In 2022, Sadoff teamed up with UW-Oshkosh faculty and students to research solutions.

“The collaboration between a local university and industry is an exciting adventure,” says Gary Griessmeyer, Sadoff’s environmental compliance manager. “We are in the scrap industry not chemistry or biology. Students help us learn while they learn.”

Courtesy: www.wisconsin.edu