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Isn't aluminum the only thing worth recycling due to using less energy then processing bauxite?
by t1234s 1y ago
Isn't aluminum the only thing worth recycling due to using less energy then processing bauxite?
- 1970-01-01 1y agoGlass and other metals such as steel, copper, etc. is still worth recycling.
- JohnFen 1y agoAnd paper.
- chneu 1y agoMost paper can't be recycled because it's impregnated with too many contaminants. Unless you're recycling standard cardboard or newspaper it likely won't/can't be recycled.
- bryanlarsen 1y agoMost paper these days is hard to recycle. Paper recycling worked much better when most paper was newsprint.
- t1234s 1y agoOverall doesn't aluminum consume the most energy when processing from ore vs copper steel. I remember watching aluminum production on How It's Made and the vast amount of coal needed to produce electricity to break the aluminum out of molten bauxite ore.
- philipkglass 1y agoYes, aluminum is more energy-intensive to produce, ton for ton, than copper or steel. But copper and steel still take less energy to recycle than to produce from ore so they too are worthwhile to recycle.
- worik 1y agoIs glass worth it? It is the most common mineral.
- ZeroGravitas 1y agoIt's the mining and the energy used to create glass and aluminium etc that are the key resource conserved when recycling, not the material itself.
- worik 1y agoI get that. But the mining cost for glass is so low. The energy difference cannot be that much different. What worries me is transporting the glass form my place to the recycler might negate all the benefit.