Gold may be known as the yellow metal, but did you know it could also be one of the greenest? That’s because, instead of sourcing gold from resource-intensive mining operations, we can ensure a more circular economy by recycling the gold we have.
A golden circular loop
If you know anything about gold, certainly in its purest forms, it can be soft and easily melted into different shapes. Mining for gold has always come at a price, not just in monetary terms, but in environmental ones too. Our quest for more of it has caught the eyes of consumers increasingly, prompting more of us to source gold in a greener way.
The World Gold Council has concluded that a green revolution is upon us, as 28 per cent of the world’s gold supply as of 2020 was sourced from recycling. The move towards greener sources of gold enjoyed a bounce in 2020, as supply from recycling saw its share of total supply rise, despite a drop in overall supply by four per cent.
This golden moment for recycled gold came as gold prices hit an all-time high in 2020, and evidence points to ‘green’ gold being more preferable than freshly-mined alternatives. A paper published in 2020 goes as far as to suggest that recycled gold is 300 times better for the planet than gold sourced through primary production. The choice is simple: stick to the more polluting mining sources, or embrace a greener, circular economy for gold.
Gold comes first
You only have to look to Japan as this summer’s Olympic hosts to see the value of recycling gold. The Japanese government came up with the ingenious idea of taking discarded smartphones and other technology, sifting through them for scrap gold and recycling it to make the Olympic medals for this year’s athletes.
UK Scrap Gold sees the value in recycled gold, as it is a finite resource and demand is just so great for it. Any scrap gold item you have to sell could easily be melted down and reshaped into something entirely new for a wide array of potential buyers. Prices are attractive as they remain close to the all-time high established in the summer of 2020.
For example, by selling to UK Scrap Gold, you could expect to make £15.13 from a single gram of 9-carat gold. Selling can be facilitated easily, simply by filling in our seller’s form. By requesting for your item to be picked up from your doorstep by Royal Mail, you can dodge the queues at the Post Office and track your parcel on its way to us. Search ‘Parcel Collect’ to access the Royal Mail collection service.
Upon receipt of the item, we can assess its value and present you with an offer, but if you’d like to discuss selling or some other matter first, why not give us a call on 01902 623 254?