What is the process which is used for recycling?

Question

How long does the process of recycling take? And what kind of energy is used? And how much energy is used?

Answer 1

First one plans to reuse materials, makes things of materials that can be reused even if the thing itself can not be reused.

One separates all different materials and has them cleaned and returned to the various places they were made, or in some cases a different facility.

Because the number of different materials is so great, it is not practical to describe energy usage, nor kind of energy except on a case by case basis.

The recycling facility may store the materials for what seems like an eternity waiting to be able to sell or use it.

Materials  that no longer have a use may be stored a lot longer.

Many machines will have an extensive disassembly process to separate different materials and clean them

For many things, it is not practical to separate materials, so they are never recycled.

Answer 2

Depends what you recycle and how you recycle it surely?

Answer 3

By the time it comes to recycling a product the raw materials it took to get to the product stage have been so dwindled (see the link).

We need to make products that are more generic to recycling processes (there's a job for you).

see the book Cradle to Cradle maybe.