Recycling by product

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Products made from a variety of materials can be recycled using a number of processes.

Building and construction waste

Aggregates and concrete

Concrete blocks in Germany.
Main article: Concrete recycling

Concrete aggregate collected from demolition sites is put through a crushing machine, often along with asphalt, bricks, dirt, and rocks. Smaller pieces of concrete are used as gravel for new construction projects. Crushed recycled concrete can also be used as the dry aggregate for new concrete if it is free of contaminants. Builder's rubble (like broken down bricks) is also used for railway ballast and gravel paths. This reduces the need for other rocks to be dug up, which in turn saves trees and habitats.

Asphalt and tarmac

Asphalt including asphalt shingle can be melted down and in part recycled. Tarmac can also be recycled and there is now an active market for recycling tarmac in the developed world.[1] This includes tarmac scalpings produced when roads are scarified before a new surface is laid.

Gypsum, plaster and plasterboard products

Because up to 17% of gypsum products are wasted during the manufacturing and installation processes.

construction sites and recycle it into new wallboard.[2]
Gypsum waste from new construction, demolition and refurbishment activities can be turned into recycled gypsum through mechanical processes, and the recycled gypsum obtained can replace virgin gypsum in the Gypsum Industry. Some of the reasons for recycling this waste are:

  • Gypsum is one of the few construction materials for which closed loop recycling is possible.[3]
  • Closed loop gypsum recycling saves virgin gypsum resources.
  • According to the European Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste,[4] recycling should be preferred to recovery and landfill disposal.
  • This Directive also establishes that the preparing for re-use, recycling and other material recovery of non-hazardous Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste (excluding soil and stones other that those containing dangerous substances) have to be increased to a minimum of 70% by weight by 2020.
  • The disposal of gypsum-based materials can become a problem if they are accepted at normal cells in non-hazardous landfills, as the sulphate content of gypsum mixed with organic waste can break down under certain conditions into hydrogen sulfide gas.

Bricks

Intact bricks recovered from demolition can be cleaned and re-used.

Batteries

Some batteries contain toxic heavy metals, making recycling or proper disposal a high priority. These batteries are Dutch; the Netherlands openly encourages battery recycling.[5][6]
Main article: Battery recycling

The large variation in size and type of

batteries makes their recycling extremely difficult:[7] they must first be sorted into similar kinds and each kind requires an individual recycling process. Additionally, older batteries contain mercury and cadmium, harmful materials that must be handled with care. Because of their potential environmental damage, proper disposal of used batteries is required by law in many areas. Unfortunately, this mandate has been difficult to enforce.[8]

Lead-acid batteries, like those used in

automobiles, are relatively easy to recycle and many regions have legislation requiring vendors to accept used products. In the United States, the recycling rate is 90%, with new batteries containing up to 80% recycled material.[8]

Japan, Kuwait, the USA, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, the UK and Ireland all actively encourage battery recycling programs.[5][6][9][10] In 2006, the EU passed the Battery Directive of which one of the aims is a higher rate of battery recycling. The EU directive said at least 25% of all the EU's used batteries must be collected by 2012, and rising to no less than 45% by 2016, of which, that at least 50% of them must be recycled.[10]

Biodegradable waste

Main article:
Composting

Kitchen, garden, and other

aerobic bacteria to break down the waste into fertile topsoil
. Much composting is done on a household scale, but municipal green-waste collection programs also exist. These programs can supplement their funding by selling the topsoil produced.

Electronic waste

Electronics disassembly and reclamation

An abandoned computer monitor in Denton, Texas.
Main article:
Computer recycling

Electronic recycling is recycling or reuse of computers or other electronics. It includes both finding another use for materials (such as donation to charity), and having systems dismantled in a manner that allows for the safe extraction of the constituent materials for reuse in other products. The direct disposal of electrical equipment—such as old computers and mobile phones is banned in many areas, such as the UK, parts of the USA, Japan, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, due to the toxic contents of certain components. The recycling process works by mechanically separating the metals, plastics, and circuit boards contained in the appliance. When this is done on a large scale at an electronic waste recycling plant, component recovery can be achieved cost-effectively.

With high

occupational health concerns exist, as well, for disassemblers and scrap dealers removing copper wiring and other materials from CRTs. Further environmental concerns related to television design and use relate to the devices' increasing electrical energy requirements.[11]

Computers that are termed trashware in North America or totally reconditioned hardware in the UK and Ireland are computer equipment that has assembled from old hardware, using cleaned and checked parts from different computers, for use by disadvantaged people to bridge the digital divide. Trashware is different from retrocomputing, which has only cultural and recreational purposes.

Ink jet printer cartridges

Resetting an Epson ink cartridge using a resetter tool.

Because printer cartridges from the original manufacturer are often

corporate entity
other than the original manufacturer.

Consumers can refill

PC World reports that refilled cartridges have higher failure rates, print fewer pages than new cartridges, and demonstrate more on-page problems like streaking, curling, and colour bleed.[12]

Metals

Main article: Scrap

A wide range of metals in commercial and domestic use have well developed recycling markets in most developed countries. Domestic recycling is commonly available for

cans. In addition, building metals such as copper,[14] zinc[15] and lead[16] are readily recyclable through specialised companies. In the UK, these are usually either specialised scrap dealers or car breakers. Other metals present in smaller quantities in the domestic waste stream such as tin[17] and chromium
are also extracted from metal put into the recycling system but are rarely recovered from the general waste stream.

Paint

This section is an excerpt from Paint recycling.[edit]
Paint is a recyclable item. Latex paint is collected at collection facilities in many countries and shipped to paint-recycling facilities.

Paper and newsprint

Waste paper collected for recycling in Ponte a Serraglio, near Bagni di Lucca, Italy.
Main article: Paper recycling

pulp and combining it with pulp from newly harvested wood. As the recycling process causes the paper fibres to break down, each time paper is recycled its quality decreases. This means that either a higher percentage of new fibres must be added, or the paper down-cycled into lower quality products. Any writing or colouration of the paper must first be removed by deinking, which also removes fillers, clays, and fibre fragments.[18]

Almost all paper can be recycled today, but some types are harder to recycle than others. Papers coated with plastic or aluminium foil, and papers that are waxed, pasted, or gummed are usually not recycled because the process is too expensive.[18]

Sometimes recyclers ask for the removal of the

newspapers because they are a different type of paper. Glossy inserts have a heavy clay coating that some paper mills cannot accept. Most of the clay is removed from the recycled pulp as sludge, which must be disposed of. If the coated paper is 20% by weight clay, then each ton of glossy paper produces more than 200 kg of sludge and less than 800 kg of fibre.[18]

The price of

recycled paper has varied greatly over the last 30 or so years.[19]
[20][21]
China.[22] 2010 averaged at $120.32 over the start of the year, but saw a rapid rise global prices in May 2010,[20] with the June 2010 resting $217.11 per ton in the USA as China's paper market began to reopen![20]

Mexico, America, the EU, Russia and Japan all recycle paper en masse and there are many state run and private schemes running in those countries. In 2004 the paper recycling rate in Europe was 54.6% or 45.5 million short tons (41.3 Mt).[25] The recycling rate in Europe reached 64.5%3 in 2007, which confirms that the industry is on the path to meeting its voluntary target of 66% by 2010.[26]

Plastic

Plastic shipping crates in Italian recycling plant.
This section is an excerpt from Plastic recycling.[edit]
Plastic recycling
HDPE
ready for recycling
  • A watering can made from recycled bottles

    • plastic waste into other products.[27][28][29] Recycling can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.[30][31] Recycling rates lag those of other recoverable materials, such as aluminium, glass and paper. From the start of production through to 2015, the world produced some 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which has been recycled, and only ~1% has been recycled more than once.[32] Of the remaining waste, 12% was incinerated and 79% either sent to landfill or lost into the environment as pollution.[32]

    Almost all plastic is non-biodegradable and without recycling, spreads across the environment[33][34] where it can cause harm. For example, as of 2015 approximately 8 million tons of waste plastic enter the oceans annually, damaging the ecosystem and forming ocean garbage patches.[35] Even the highest quality recycling processes lead to substantial plastic waste during the sorting and cleaning process, releasing large amounts of microplastics in waste water, and dust from the process.[36][37]

    Almost all recycling is mechanical: melting and reforming plastic into other items. This can cause

    capital costs. Alternatively, plastic can be burned in place of fossil fuels, in energy recovery facilities or biochemically converted into other useful chemicals for industry. In some countries, burning is the dominant form of plastic waste disposal, particularly where landfill diversion
    policies are in place.

    Plastic recycling is low in the     waste hierarchy. It has been advocated since the early 1970s,[39] but due to economic and technical challenges, did not impact plastic waste to any significant extent until the late 1980s. The plastics industry has been criticised for lobbying for expansion of recycling programs, even while research showed that most plastic could not be economically recycled.[40][41][42]

    Rubber Tires

    This section is an excerpt from Tire recycling.[edit]
    Tire arm chair
    Tires are among the most problematic sources of waste. Progress in recycling has resulted in a major reduction in dumping.

    tires that are no longer suitable for use on vehicles due to wear or irreparable damage. These tires are a challenging source of waste, due to the large volume produced, the durability of the tires, and the components in the tire that are ecologically problematic.[43]

    Because tires are highly durable and non-biodegradable, they can consume valuable space in landfills.[43] If waste tires are improperly managed they may cause rubber pollution. In 1990, it was estimated that over 1 billion scrap tires were in stockpiles in the United States. As of 2015, only 67 million tires remain in stockpiles.[44] From 1994 to 2010, the European Union increased the amount of tires recycled from 25% of annual discards to nearly 95%, with roughly half of the end-of-life tires used for energy, mostly in cement manufacturing.[45][46]

    Pyrolysis and devulcanization could facilitate recycling. Aside from use as fuel, the main end use for tires remains ground crumb rubber.[44][47] In 2017, 13% of U.S. tires removed from their primary use were sold in the used tire market. Of the tires that were scrapped, 43% were burnt as tire-derived fuel, with cement manufacturing the largest user, another 25% were used to make ground rubber, 8% were used in civil engineering projects, 17% were disposed of in landfills and 8% had other uses.[48] Globally, tire graveyards are a common environmental hazard, with significant pollutants and other challenges. For example, the Sulaibiya tire graveyard in Kuwait has had repeat highly toxic fires.[49]

    Ship breaking

    A 30- to 40-year-old general cargo ship anchored off Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, before being broken up.
    This section is an excerpt from Ship breaking.[edit]
    Removing steel plates from a ship using cranes[50] at Alang Ship Breaking Yard in India

    recycled and made into new products. This lowers the demand for mined iron ore and reduces energy use in the steelmaking process. Fixtures and other equipment on board the vessels can also be reused. While ship-breaking is sustainable, there are concerns about its use by poorer countries without stringent environmental legislation. It is also labour-intensive, and considered one of the world's most dangerous industries.[52]

    In 2012, roughly 1,250 ocean ships were broken down, and their average age was 26 years.[53][54] In 2013, the world total of demolished ships amounted to 29,052,000 tonnes, 92% of which were demolished in Asia. As of January 2020, Alang Ship Breaking Yard in India has the largest global share at 30%,[55] followed by Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard in Bangladesh and Gadani Ship Breaking Yard in Pakistan.[56]

    The largest sources of ships are China, Greece, and Germany, although there is a greater variation in the source of carriers versus their disposal.[57] The ship-breaking yards of India, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan employ 225,000 workers as well as providing many indirect jobs. In Bangladesh, the recycled steel covers 20% of the country's needs and in India it is almost 10%.[58]

    As an alternative to ship breaking, ships may be sunk to create artificial reefs after legally mandated removal of hazardous materials (though this does not recycle any materials), or sunk in deep ocean waters. Storage is a viable temporary option, whether on land or afloat, though most ships will eventually be scrapped; some will be sunk, or preserved as museums.

    Textiles

    Main article: Textile recycling

    In many countries, there is an active market in re-selling used clothes. In Britain, this dominated by charity shops who sell donated clean clothes. Less saleable clothes are put into the re-cycling waste stream.

    modal
    and a variety of other materials. The textile's composition will affect its durability and method of recycling.

    Textiles entering the re-cycling stream are sorted and separated by workers into good quality clothing and shoes which can be reused or worn. There is a trend of moving these facilities from developed countries to developing countries either for charity or sold at a cheaper price.[59] Many international organisations collect used textiles from developed countries as a donation to those third world countries. This recycling practise is encouraged because it helps to reduce unwanted waste while providing clothing to those in need.[60] Damaged textiles are further sorted into grades to make industrial wiping cloths and for use in high quality paper manufacture or material suitable for fibre reclamation and filling products. If textile reprocessors receive wet or soiled clothes, however, these may still be disposed of in a landfill, as the washing and drying facilities may not be present at sorting units.[61]

    Fibre reclamation mills sort textiles according to fibre type and colour. Colour sorting eliminates the need to re-dye the recycled textiles. The textiles are shredded into "shoddy" fibres and blended with other selected fibres, depending on the intended end use of the recycled yarn. The blended mixture is carded to clean and mix the fibres and spun ready for weaving or knitting. The fibres can also be compressed for mattress production. Textiles sent to the flocking industry are shredded to make

    loudspeaker cones, panel linings and furniture padding
    .

    According to Earth911.com, "Metal hangers, while made of steel, can be difficult to recycle because their hooks can damage recycling equipment and some have a petroleum coating. Some curbside recycling programs do accept them.... Many dry cleaners take back hangers, too...."[62]

    Chat and furnace slag

    In North America, mine

    fly ash and in some cases ashes have all historically been used in places such as the industrial parts of Yorkshire and South Wales to make domestic cinder
    paths.

    See also

    References

    1. ^ Netregs - Guidance on Roadstone coating processes
    2. ^ Plasterboard recycling
    3. ^ EUROGYPSUM, Environmental and Raw Material Committee. Factsheet on: What is gypsum? "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved 16 December 2013.
    4. ^ Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives
    5. ^ a b "Recycling News Exchange Listings -- Recycler's World".
    6. ^
      ISBN 0-8155-1325-9
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    8. ^ a b "Batteries - Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
    9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2012-10-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    10. ^ a b "EU agrees battery recycling law". BBC News. 2006-05-03.
    11. ^ "The Rise of the Machines: A Review of Energy Using Products in the Home from the 1970s to Today" (PDF). Energy Saving Trust. July 3, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
    12. ^ "Printers: Refills or new cartridges?". PCWorld.ca. 2007-04-03. Archived from the original on 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
    13. ^ a b Metals - aluminium and steel recycling Archived 2007-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
    14. ^ Recycling of Copper
    15. ^ Zinc recycling
    16. ^ Lead recycling
    17. ^ Tin recycling
    18. ^ a b c "EarthAnswers - How is Paper Recycled?". Archived from the original on 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
    19. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2010-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    20. ^ a b c "Recycling and Composting Online".
    21. ^ a b Tomlinson, Heather (2003-04-06). "Recycled paper up in price". The Independent. London.[dead link]
    22. ^ a b c "Paper Recycling Crisis ? - Wild About Britain". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
    23. ^ "Loose Waste Paper Exchange Listings".
    24. ^ "A Paper Recycling Business - Startup Guide".
    25. ^ "ERPC Facts and Figures". European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC). Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-09-27.
    26. ^ "European Declaration on Paper Recycling 2006–2010. Monitoring Report 2007" (PDF). European Recovered Paper Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
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      PMID 28776036
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    36. ^ Paul, Andrew (2023-05-08). "Recycling plants spew a staggering amount of microplastics". Popular Science. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
    37. S2CID 258457895
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    38. ^ Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy, COM(2018) 28 final, 6 January 2018
    39. ISBN 978-1-4684-0873-7
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    40. ^ National Public Radio, 12 September 2020 "How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled"
    41. ^ PBS, Frontline, 31 March 2020, "Plastics Industry Insiders Reveal the Truth About Recycling"
    42. ^ Dharna Noor (2024-02-15). "'They lied': plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
    43. ^ a b "Scrap Tires: Handbook on Recycling Applications and Management for the U.S. and Mexico" (PDF). epa.gov. United States Environmental Protection Agency. December 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 November 2016.
    44. ^ a b "Stockpile Cleanup". Rubber Manufacturers Association. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016 – via Google Scholar.
    45. ^ "End of Life Tyres: A Valuable Resource with Growing Potential" (PDF). European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers' Association. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
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    48. ^ "2017 U.S. Scrap Tire Management Summary" (PDF). U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association. 18 July 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
    49. ^ Technologies, Mano. "EPA To Remove Tires From Site, Hand Over Land To PAHW Soon | Kuwait Local". Kuwaitlocal. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
    50. ^ "Safe Accesses to the ships at HKC compliant Ship Recycling Facilities". GMS Leadership.
    51. ^ "Life Cycle of a Ship". shippipedia.com. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
    52. ^ Lord, Ross; Logan, Nick (12 September 2013). "Ship breaking: Newfoundland's legacy with one of the most hazardous jobs". globalnews.ca. Shaw Media Inc. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
    53. ^ "NGO Shipbreaking Platform » Problems and Solutions". www.shipbreakingplatform.org. NGO Shipbreaking Platform. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
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    55. ^ India eyes 60 per cent share of global ship recycling business; higher GDP contribution, Economic Times, 30 December 2019.
    56. ^ Miroux, Anne (20 November 2014). "Review of Maritime Transport 2014" (PDF). unctad.org. United Nations Conference on trade and development. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
    57. ^ Ashkar, Hisham H. (4 June 2015). "Shipbreaking in 2014". GRID-Arendal.
    58. ^ Rekacewicz, Philippe (25 February 2012). "Shipbreaking in Asia | GRID-Arendal – Maps & Graphics library". www.grida.no. GRID-Arendal. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
    59. ^ "UK reliance on foreign textile sorting "frightening"". Letsrecycle.com. 2006-11-08. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
    60. ^ "Salvation Army". Archived from the original on 2010-05-23. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
    61. ^ "Councils "need to understand" importance of textile quality". Letsrecycle.com. 2006-11-24. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
    62. ^ "10 Things in Your Closet You Can Reuse or Recycle". Retrieved 2014-02-09.

    External links

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