Why is aluminum easier to recycle than plastic?

Question

Why is aluminum easier to recycle than plastic?

Answer 1

Recycling of plastic need different sorting mechanism for different type of plastic. While Aluminum can be easily recycled after being cleaned and melted

Answer 2

aluminium comes in may forms "6082" "6061" etc which has higher or lower concentration of varible substances all the substances are impuities which can be burnt out, i.e, melt itclean the rubbish off of the top)

Plastics are created from an individual process whick starts from the beginninf of the fefinery of crude oils, thus in turn means each plastic has a very different chemical compostion "ertacetal" dence plastic used for grommets, softened by addin vulcanised rubber (different story lol), polyethol range is also very complex also, as the poly family cover winfdows to carrier bags, drinking bottles the next is the series of acrylics (bullet proof glass) au can see the list of plastics has been infinitely tampered with to produce any quality needed for yhe job, how much effort would be needed to molecularily define each one to be recyclrd!!

i hope i am right, my engineering days are a few years behind me now lol...when all the stuff needed to be know for product design research etc!!  let me know if i am wrong, i am always open to creative critism!!

Answer 3

When plastics are recycled they are melted down and in the process some of the polymer chains break and cannot be restructured to their original shape.  So, while plastics are recyclable, once a plastic goes through the recyling process (of being melted down and formed into some new bottle, coke t-shirt, fleece, whatever) it is not as strong as it would have been were it made from unrecycled plastic, which is not a problem for some things (fleece, coke t-shirts, etc.) as it is for others (bottles, grocery bags, etc.).

Answer 4

From my understanding there are several different types of plastic as referenced by the different numbers in the tringle shape on a plastic container, thus making it critical to seperate and sort these as they do not "blend " when recycled.  As for aluminum, aluminum is all the same and can be melted as such without an issue.

Answer 5

There are many different types of plastics. If you look at the recycling symbol you will see a number. The numbers are 1 through 7: 1=PET, 2=HDPE, 3=PVC, 4=LDPE, 5=PP, 6=PS, 7=other. You cannot mix these types of pastics without ruining the blend. It is very difficult to keep these separated and one 2 liter coke bottle in a #6 will ruin over 100 lbs. of plastic.

Aluminum is an element and will not degrade. It will oxidize, but this will burn off in the foundry when the recycled aluminum is blended.

Answer 6

it really isn't both products have the same basic process- sorted-melted-and reformed.Some plastics may go through a shredding process first but that is only so they will melt faster and more evenly in the mixing pot

Answer 7

Because there is a market for aluminum and not one for plastic.  Many plastics that are separated to be recycled end up in the landfill anyway because there are no buyers.  Try taking a bunch of plastic bottles to the average recycling yard and see what they tell you.

Answer 8

For metals you just have to skim off the impurities.   Plastics have to be clean first.