How does the whole recycling process work?

Question

For example how do cans get recycled. They get squashed than melted or what?

Thanks

Answer 1

Visit www.springfieldmrf.org and view the video. This shows how recycling from 78 towns in western ma is processed. From that facility, it is sent off to companies that use the material as feedstock for new products.  

Click on "News and Events" on that website to view an article I wrote about the "end markets" - where the recycling goes and what it is made into.

Answer 2

Plastics have to be sorted, then shredded, then melted.

Cans are generally crushed for space reasons.  They also have to be sorted for ferris and non-ferris metals.  

This link is a pretty simple and straight forward explanation of various materials, and may be of use.

http://www.uoregon.edu/~recycle/after_co...

Answer 3

Cans are first sorted by materials of manufacture using a magnetic seperator, then they are crushed and bailed to reduce transport costs to the smelting plant.

The aluminum cans are melted in a furnace and used to make more aluminum products.

The steel cans are electrochemically treated to reclaim the tin used in plating and soldering. the remaining steel is melted in a furnace and used to make more steel products.

Paper and cardboard are first bailed to reduce transport costs to the paper mill where they are mulched and chemically treated to remove dies and printing inks. The mulch is then used to produce new paper and cardboard.

Glass bottles are first sorted into different colours and are chushed to reduce transport costs. the glass is melted in a furnace and is used to produce new glass bottles.

Plastics are first sorted into different types for example PET beverage bottles and polyethylene milk bottles. they are then granulated and fed into machinery to produce various plastic products.

Kitchen and garden wastes can be composted and reused in the horticulture.

Non recyclables also have a useful purpose.

They can be used as land fill to reclaim non productive land or to infill disused quarries. The reclaimed land can then be used as amenity parks or sports fields.

They can also be used as fuel in powerstations to generate electricity.

See also the question WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF RECYCLING?

Answer 4

That varies with the trash items that are to be recycled.  Metals are usually melted and then sold to be used in products again.  Papers/cardboards are usually shredded and then soaked.   From there they are made in to blocks of shredded paper and sold to paper manufactures for use again.  Plastics are usually melted and on occasion soda bottles are used for non consumable goods such as fertilizer containers.  Rubber/tires are frequently shredded and used as walkways and in some states the shredded rubber is used in road construction or in childrens playgrounds for safety.  You can find out more information about recycling at www.GoElectricNow.com.  Just enter recycling in the search box and you'll find information from many different sources.  i hope this helped.

Answer 5

Your guess about cans I think is close to the reality.

Other materials may travel quite a lot before being recycled. Paper might end up in India or China, glass might end up in the landfill sites because it's not too energy efficient to recycle it, so there is no huge demand for recyclable glass.

Recyclables from your garden and some of the wooden furniture might end up in a composting site, but unfortunately many materials from furniture cannot be composted because of the glue used in the production process. But still these furniture parts might be used for manufacturing of e.g. chipboards.