Friedland Industries, Inc. is the original scrap-recycler located in the heart of Lansing's Old Town. We are one of Lansing's first green businesses. It's a tradition we've proudly maintained for over 130 years.
What We Do
The term recycling is relatively new compared to the recycling process, which has been around for a very long time. Recycling is synonymous with scrap-processing, which is why you hear people refer to Friedland as a scrap yard. Both of these terms are correct.
Our role in the recycling process is to separate, clean, shear, shred, sort and bale commodities such as steel, copper, aluminum, and all types of paper, manufacturing them to rigid specifications. We then send them to various mills to be re-melted or re-pulped and made into something new.
Manufacturers create new products such as washers, dryers, refrigerators, sheet steel for manufacturing, automobiles, and much more. Consumers, both individuals and companies, buy those products for use. Once the products are obsolete or excess scrap material is generated from a manufacturing process, these consumers buy new products, at which point they sell their obsolete scrap material to a scrap-processor like us.
Friedland New Year ad in the Lansing State Journal on January 1, 1929
We clean the material by crushing, shredding and sorting each commodity into its own classification. We then sell the sorted and upgraded commodities to a mill. The mill then re-melts (or re-pulps, in the case of paper fiber) the commodities, and processes them into blocks or sheets.
The mill then sells those blocks and sheets to manufacturers, who again make new products. And the cycle goes on. Pretty cool, huh? We think so, too!
We also provide industrial scrap management services, container services, and confidential document, hard drive and media shredding services for individuals, companies and municipalities.
Community and the environment continue to be our top priorities year after year. We are immensely proud of that tradition.
Why do all of this?
Modern day Friedland
We and our colleagues in the scrap-processing industry are part of the environmental cure! Not only is it more economical to use scrap, but it takes less energy to make new products out of scrap. For example:
56% less energy is used to make new steel out of scrap (rather than from mining virgin iron ore out of the ground)
92% less energy for aluminum re-use
90% less energy for copper re-use
87% less energy for plastic re-use
65% less energy for making new paper out of re-pulped paper (rather than cutting down trees)
Each day, the amount of scrap steel processed in the United States for re-use is enough to build 25 Eiffel Towers. Everything we buy and sell at Friedland Industries is recycled, and ultimately reused. We are proud of our lean, green, mean mission!
Our Community
Friedland Industries is the original scrap recycling facility in the heart of Lansing's Old Town. We are a family-owned, first-class business that has been a good neighbor in the capital city for more than 130 years. The company is one of the first green recycling companies in Mid-Michigan.
Friedland Industries is a major employer in Lansing's Old Town Neighborhood and has given back to the community in more ways than one.
We welcome the opportunity for community members and our neighbors to learn about what we do. Committed to being a good neighbor, we host and participate in many events throughout the year. (You can see more information on our Community Involvement page.)
Be a Tourist in Your Own Town
Document Destruction Day
School Field-trips & Tours
Greater Lansing's Go Green Initiative
Children’s Miracle Network
Sparrow Gala
Silver Bells
Cristo Rey Community Center
Michigan National Guard
For more information about the community events we participate in, call us at (517) 482-3000 or email us at: info@friedlandindustries.com
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries