The industry that centers around recycling gold products like fillings or family jewelry is nothing new in countries like India, where the precious metal is an enduring part of the culture. There, everyone knows where they can buy and sell recycled gold in order to make a little money. In the US, however, things are different.
Until recently few people even considered attempting to sell gold products for recycling purposes. Even if they did, there were few local options for their use. Now, however, the practice of selling your gold to dealers interested in recycling it is on the rise.
Rising Interest
According to recent figures, the supply of secondary market gold coming from the US has risen steadily over the past four years. The reasons?
First of all, the US economy has put many people in the position of needing to access some kind of funding quickly. Commercials for gold recycling services promise to purchase unused gold items for good prices with little hassle and there are all sorts of options available, from pawnshops, to storefronts, to mail-in services. Buyers are making it a simple and convenient way to increase consumers’ ready money supplies.
Secondly, the extremely high demand for gold has resulted in higher prices, making it a great time for consumers to cash in on any gold that they are holding. Many of them do.
Impact on Supply
The increasing amount of recycled gold has helped to bolster overall gold supply. According to figures from the World Gold Council, while mine supply grew by only 3% during the third quarter of 2010, the supply of recycled gold increased by 41%. This served to boost overall gold supply by 18% compared to the year ago period.
One good aspect of recycling gold is that it reduces the need for new gold mining. Many people are not aware that gold mining can be extremely harmful to the environment. About 20 tons of mines waste are generated for every gold ring, and gold mining releases toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide into water supplies. -GK, http://www.brilliantearth.com