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What would you mark as the worthwhile ones? Personally I place high value on raw material recycling. Even if it's more expensive monetarily, so long as it uses

What would you mark as the worthwhile ones? Personally I place high value on raw material recycling. Even if it's more expensive monetarily, so long as it uses less resources it seems worth it to me. Aluminum cans are currently recycled more than any other beverage container in the U.S, which is good for business and the environment, says the Aluminum Association, because making a can from recycled aluminum saves not only aluminum but 92 percent of the energy required to make a new can

moptar 10y ago
Costing more money is a measure of how many resources it's using. So more expensive is almost by definition more wasteful. The resource might be more human labor than natural resources but it's still something valuable that could better be used another way if there's a cheaper alternative.
douche 10y ago
Aluminum (and steel) is one of the very few things that is in any way worthwhile to recycle. Most of the things that we are urged to recycle (glass, plastics, paper, cardboard, etc) are cheaper and easier to make new from the abundant raw materials.
- dmm 10y ago
  Lead too because it keeps it out of the environment and reduces the need for lead mining.
- ams6110 10y ago
  Corrugated cardboard is a net benefit to recycle, I've heard. Otherwise you are correct. It's just feel-good. Most of what you drop off at recycling centers is just trucked to landfills after it's out of your sight.
  - titzer 10y ago
    > Most of what you drop off at recycling centers is just trucked to landfills after it's out of your sight. This is definitely not true in Germany. And for glass bottle recycling, most bottles are washed and reused up to 50 times before being melted down.
- tamana 10y ago
  Quality Paper (not 5th generation cardboard) is energy-efficient to recycle
  - josephpmay 10y ago
    It's energy efficient, but it lessens the demand for tree farms, which themselves are good for the environment.
    - titzer 10y ago
      I haven't seen that before. How are tree farms good for the environment?
      - josephpmay 10y ago
        It depends on how you classify "good for the environment." In terms of biodiversity, if tree farms are replacing old-growth forests, they're terrible for the environment. However, if tree farms are located in places that have long been cleared (such as conventional farm land), they can bring back biodiversity, prevent soil erosion, and most importantly are extremely efficient at carbon capture. Of course, most of the studies on this are sponsored by the paper industry, and it's really difficult to get unbiased information on the subject.
13of40 10y ago
I read that the alloy used in the tops of aluminum cans is different from the alloy used in the body [1], and as a result when they're melted down they create a third alloy. That seems like it's at odds with the claim that it's infinitely recyclable and "can be recycled and back on the store shelf as a new beverage can in less than 60 days" [2]. Anyone know the answer to that? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage_can#Fabrication_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage_can#Fabrication_proce... [2] http://www.alcoa.com/recycling/en/info_page/why_recycle.asp http://www.alcoa.com/recycling/en/info_page/why_recycle.asp
- DanBC 10y ago
  (I didn't downvote) Your wikipedia article says: > When recycled without other metals being mixed in, the can–lid combination is perfect for producing new stock for the main part of the can—the loss of magnesium during melting is made up for by the high magnesium content of the lid.
  - 13of40 10y ago
    If you look at Alcoa's specs, the difference in the alloys isn't just magnesium content. [1] See chromium, for example, which is in the alloy for the top but not the body. Besides, even if you can make the body out of the resulting alloy, you can't make the top. [1] https://www.alcoa.com/mill_products/catalog/pdf/China_Specs/Can_Sheet_Specs.pdf https://www.alcoa.com/mill_products/catalog/pdf/China_Specs/...
danieltillett 10y ago
Battery and fluro tube recycling. These help prevent the contamination of waste dumps with heavy metals although with modern waste dumps that don't leach (as much) this is less of a problem. The really big environmental issue that is not being tackled is anthropomorphic climate change. Really it is not going to matter how many plastic bottles we recycle if we push CO2 over 1000 ppm and which we are on track to do.

moptar 10y ago

Costing more money is a measure of how many resources it's using. So more expensive is almost by definition more wasteful. The resource might be more human labor than natural resources but it's still something valuable that could better be used another way if there's a cheaper alternative.

douche 10y ago

Aluminum (and steel) is one of the very few things that is in any way worthwhile to recycle. Most of the things that we are urged to recycle (glass, plastics, paper, cardboard, etc) are cheaper and easier to make new from the abundant raw materials.

dmm 10y ago
Lead too because it keeps it out of the environment and reduces the need for lead mining.
ams6110 10y ago
Corrugated cardboard is a net benefit to recycle, I've heard. Otherwise you are correct. It's just feel-good. Most of what you drop off at recycling centers is just trucked to landfills after it's out of your sight.
- titzer 10y ago
  > Most of what you drop off at recycling centers is just trucked to landfills after it's out of your sight. This is definitely not true in Germany. And for glass bottle recycling, most bottles are washed and reused up to 50 times before being melted down.
tamana 10y ago
Quality Paper (not 5th generation cardboard) is energy-efficient to recycle
- josephpmay 10y ago
  It's energy efficient, but it lessens the demand for tree farms, which themselves are good for the environment.
  - titzer 10y ago
    I haven't seen that before. How are tree farms good for the environment?
    - josephpmay 10y ago
      It depends on how you classify "good for the environment." In terms of biodiversity, if tree farms are replacing old-growth forests, they're terrible for the environment. However, if tree farms are located in places that have long been cleared (such as conventional farm land), they can bring back biodiversity, prevent soil erosion, and most importantly are extremely efficient at carbon capture. Of course, most of the studies on this are sponsored by the paper industry, and it's really difficult to get unbiased information on the subject.

13of40 10y ago

I read that the alloy used in the tops of aluminum cans is different from the alloy used in the body [1], and as a result when they're melted down they create a third alloy. That seems like it's at odds with the claim that it's infinitely recyclable and "can be recycled and back on the store shelf as a new beverage can in less than 60 days" [2]. Anyone know the answer to that? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage_can#Fabrication_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage_can#Fabrication_proce... [2] http://www.alcoa.com/recycling/en/info_page/why_recycle.asp http://www.alcoa.com/recycling/en/info_page/why_recycle.asp

DanBC 10y ago
(I didn't downvote) Your wikipedia article says: > When recycled without other metals being mixed in, the can–lid combination is perfect for producing new stock for the main part of the can—the loss of magnesium during melting is made up for by the high magnesium content of the lid.
- 13of40 10y ago
  If you look at Alcoa's specs, the difference in the alloys isn't just magnesium content. [1] See chromium, for example, which is in the alloy for the top but not the body. Besides, even if you can make the body out of the resulting alloy, you can't make the top. [1] https://www.alcoa.com/mill_products/catalog/pdf/China_Specs/Can_Sheet_Specs.pdf https://www.alcoa.com/mill_products/catalog/pdf/China_Specs/...

danieltillett 10y ago

Battery and fluro tube recycling. These help prevent the contamination of waste dumps with heavy metals although with modern waste dumps that don't leach (as much) this is less of a problem. The really big environmental issue that is not being tackled is anthropomorphic climate change. Really it is not going to matter how many plastic bottles we recycle if we push CO2 over 1000 ppm and which we are on track to do.