Carbide recycling
For a more sustainable business
Cemented carbide circularity
Most of the raw materials used in our cemented carbide tools come from what you could call scrap. We buy back your worn-out carbide tools and reuse them to make brand-new ones. By doing this, we practice sustainable business in an environment of limited resources and minimize excessive waste.
To get started, call 1-800-SANDVIK (1-800-726-3845) and ask a customer service representative to send you our free recycling containers. Use the following order numbers when ordering containers
Order numbers:
RECYCLE CARBIDE BOX
(for 40 - 50 pounds of carbide)
RECYCLE CARBIDE CAN
(for 500 - 600 pounds of carbide)
Let’s fight waste together – get started today!
Before you throw out your carbide tool, get in contact with your local sales office for guidance on how get started with carbide recycling.
Learn more about our recycling service
Do you have questions for us about our carbide recycling service? Check out our FAQ below. If you can’t find an answer, you can always contact us.
We consume the world’s limited resources in a non-sustainable way, and in the long run our raw materials are scarce and finite. Estimated reserves of tungsten, for example, are around 7 million metric tons, or 100 years’ worth of consumption. Fortunately, we can reuse the carbide from your worn-out metal cutting tools and make them into new ones. This significantly reduces the need for sourcing raw material and the footprint that your and our operations will leave on the environment.
Cemented carbide circularity – reduce, reuse, remake, recycle
Cemented carbide circularity doesn’t only offer environmental benefits. As soon as cutting tools lose their cutting edge properties, it is easy to consider them unusable. However, the materials used to make those tools remain valuable.
To reduce the use of virgin material such as tungsten, we are already in the design phase for possibilities to include more recycled carbide in our tools. For example, the latest line of steel turning grades are made with at least 40% recycled material. In fact, most of our solid carbide tools come from what you could call scrap metal, recycled cemented carbide. The carbide we use in our production comes from the worn inserts, solid round tools and other carbide tools that we collected from our customers. The used carbide tools are taken to our ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified plants, where they are recycled using approved and environmentally sound recycling methods. This is carried out either though a zinc process, where they are desegregated into a powder, or a chemical process, during which the carbides are dissolved into their atomic components.
We want you to use the cutting tools for as long as possible. Optimized use is sustainable both for the environment and your business wallet. Make sure you use the right cutting data and tool setup for optimized tool life. Before putting the tool in the recycling bin, check if it is possible to repair or refurbish it. Many tools can gain expanded tool life through reconditioning or regrinding, which is both a cost-effective and sustainable option for extending the tool life span before they’re sent for recycling. Our Reconditioning service is available for many of the solid round tools – turning the solid end mill or drill into a new one up to three times.
Let’s fight waste together
Remember: your scrap is not waste. Make sure to carefully sort your carbide into our recycling boxes if you’d like to make your own production more sustainable while at the same time supporting us in our goal to increase carbide circularity. We all come out winners when worn-out tools are kept out of landfills and junkyards.
How it works
Collection process
- Call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-SANDVIK (1-800-726-3845) to request free recycling containers.
- You can use the collection boxes at each machine or cell to collect used carbide inserts and solid carbide drills and end mills. All carbide inserts and solid carbide tools, both coated and uncoated, will be accepted.
- Fill the transportation boxes with carbide collected from each machine or cell. Put used carbide inserts and solid carbide drills and end mills together in the recycling boxes and or drums (see restrictions below).
Return process
- Call 1-800-SANDVIK (1-800-726-3845) to obtain a Recycling Purchase Order Number (RRA) and a current price per pound quote.
- Fill in the customer information and the Recycling Purchase Order Number (RRA) in the customer information box on the return form and on the return label provided in the recycling containers. This information will ensure that you receive your check without delay.
- Ship the full containers using the shipping label included in the container. Be sure to include a copy of the return form in each container you return.
- Once your recycling material has been inspected, Sandvik Coromant will provide a purchase order with the confirmed weight.
- An invoice must be submitted with a remit to address, so that payment via check can be mailed to you.
- If you have any questions regarding your shipment, call the Customer Service Center at 1-800-SANDVIK (1-800-726-3845). Please have your Purchase Order number (RRA) ready when you call.
Return restrictions
Include only stand-alone inserts and solid carbide round tools; carbide cannot be connected or brazed to any other material. We do not accept cermet or ceramic inserts. These items are not recyclable. Please do not return these inserts.
Working together for a sustainable future
We can help you make your products and processes greener and more efficient. For several years Sandvik Coromant has been developing a code of conduct for environmental, health and safety management systems. An important part of that is a new life-cycle approach we apply when purchasing and collecting your worn tools so they can be reconditioned or recycled. This process saves both parties energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
