Here at Morecambe Metals, we’ve been recycling scrap metal for over 35 years. Scrap metal recycling forms the basis for a sustainable and renewable future, and one of our primary responsibilities is ensuring the scrap metal we take in doesn’t just sit on a scrap heap for years but completes its journey through the recycling process and emerges from the other side as a usable material, negating the need for virgin metal and preserving the planet’s resources. A key part of this process is exporting the scrap metal overseas to be recycled effectively.
As a family-run business, we’re conscious of the role we play within our local community and are keen to play our part in providing jobs, contributing to the economy and utilising local resources wherever possible. We want to ensure our efforts in scrap metal recycling don’t go to waste, which means seeking out the best place to send the metal we collect. This, coupled with our desire to support the community, has led to an exciting and successful partnership with the Lancaster Port Commission at Glasson Dock. We’re very proud of the work we’re doing together – a venture that has breathed new life into the port and helped to revitalise the area.
Lancaster Port Commission and The Port of Lancaster at Glasson Dock
The Port of Lancaster is located in Glasson Dock village, which sits on the mouth of the River Lune. As the Statutory Harbour Authority for the Port of Lancaster, the Lancaster Port Commission oversees the safe navigation of vessels navigating the harbour. The work carried out by the Lancaster Port Commission is vital in keeping the port at Glasson Dock running smoothly – predominantly for commercial use. As a Trust Port, the Lancaster Port Commission has no shareholders. All investments are put back into the port with a goal to benefit the local and broader community and district.
Over past decades, the Port of Lancaster operated as a single-user installation, but declining cargo throughput over the Glasson Dock quays had a negative financial impact on the Port, resulting in the deterioration of port infrastructure and fabric. The Lancaster Port Commission has extended trade opportunities to diverse local businesses like Morecambe Metals in a recent effort to restore cargo throughput levels. The Lancaster Port Commission’s Chief Executive Officer Elsabe White says:
“The Lancaster Port Commission proudly provides import and export facilities to local businesses in support of the local economy and to act as custodian of port heritage, which contributes to the cultural capital sustaining the unique character of Glasson Dock for the benefit of the local community.”
Collaborating with these businesses helps to safeguard the future viability of the port for the benefit of the wider community. The Commission is proud to be able to support local jobs for local people.
Why is Scrap Metal Exportation Important?
When we talk about scrap metal recycling, we often discuss benefits such as metal’s ability to be recycled continuously without losing any of its properties, reducing atmospheric pollution, water consumption and CO2 emissions. Recycling scrap metal contributes massively towards stemming harmful processes like mining for new ore – but for this to happen, the scrap metal must actually be recycled and made into new, usable metal.
This is where exportation comes in. Exporting facilities like Morecambe Metals’ at the Port of Lancaster ensure that sorted and processed scrap metal is sent to a recycling facility with the infrastructure to process and remelt it into new metal. As scrap metal recyclers, we play a role in ensuring the demand for metals are met – the more scrap metal we can export to steel mills, the more can be recycled, negating the need for mining new metal ore.
Exporting Scrap Metal from The Port of Lancaster
Morecambe Metals currently uses the Port of Lancaster at Glasson Dock to ship scrap metal to Europe – most recently to Spain. It is processed in steel mills and remelted into new, usable steel. Recycling scrap metal plays a crucial role in preserving our planet’s natural resources and is a vital building block for a sustainable world.
With the help of the Lancaster Port Commission, Morecambe Metals are currently shipping between 2500 – 3000 tonnes of scrap metal a month from our exporting facility at Glasson Dock, capable of shipping as much as 6000 tonnes. Processed scrap metal is unloaded onto the dock, where it is then loaded via a claw crane onto cargo vessels, ready to be shipped to Europe. Take a look at this video to appreciate the proper size and what is involved in the operation:
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Revitalising the Dock
Morecambe Metals’ venture has been supported, accommodated, and encouraged by the Lancaster Port Commission, who have been looking after the Port of Lancaster since 1750.
Morecambe Metals’ decision to use the port for scrap metal exportation has contributed to the recent revitalisation of the dock. Our exporting facility has created good quality, long term jobs for local people and helped keep the business in the local area. Here at Morecambe Metals, we always keep the best interests of the surrounding community at the forefront of our minds. We’re thrilled to be loading vessels with heavy melting steel after a ten-year absence, and contributing to the revitalisation of The Port of Lancaster at Glasson Dock. Morecambe Metals Commercial Manager Will Carvalho comments:
“We’re very happy to be bringing life back to Glasson Dock, providing jobs for the local community and keeping the business local.”
If you would like to find out more about the scrap metal recycling work we do here at Morecambe Metals, please contact us today.