11 DECEMBER 2013www.treehugger.com
100% of aluminum can be obtained from recycling
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
Recycling aluminum uses about 95% less energy than making new one from bauxite ore, which compares very favorably with other types of recycling. For example, recycled plastic requires 70% less energy and paper uses about 40% less. That's pretty good, though as we've said many times, it's always better to just use less stuff to begin with, to find ways to reuse what you already have, or repair it, etc (the 7 Rs). But even if we apply these principles, we all use stuff anyway, and it's better for these raw materials to be recycled into something useful than to end up in a landfill.
To go back to aluminum, the fact that recycling it saves so much energy combined with the fact that it can be recycled almost an infinite number of times (it doesn't degrade like paper or plastic) mean that it possible to imagine a day when we don't even have to make new, energy-intensive aluminum anymore. The amount being recycled would meet the demand from industry to make new things.
To go back to aluminum, the fact that recycling it saves so much energy combined with the fact that it can be recycled almost an infinite number of times (it doesn't degrade like paper or plastic) mean that it possible to imagine a day when we don't even have to make new, energy-intensive aluminum anymore. The amount being recycled would meet the demand from industry to make new things.
Previous article
Automotive growth to drive the aluminium scraps market in the Middle East, says Frost & Sullivan
Next articleProject Reboot launched to increase electronics recycling
Grow with
AL Circle
