What Is a Closed-Loop Recycling System?
- In a closed-loop system, aluminium cans are recycled into new cans, power cables into power cables, and construction materials into new structural components, maintaining the original material integrity.
- If no closed-loop recycling systems exist, valuable materials either end up in landfill/ incinerated or are downcycled – collected for the lowest purity form, which is often aluminium alloy for casting.
How Are Different Types of Aluminium Scrap Recycled?
- New Scrap (Pre-Consumer Scrap): Generated during manufacturing processes, this type of scrap is directly reintegrated into production without significant quality loss.
- Old Scrap (End-of-Life Scrap): Derived from post-consumer goods, this category requires collection, sorting, and processing before reintegration into the manufacturing cycle. The absence of effective collection systems/processing technologies results in substantial material loss.
- Cans lacking financial incentives for collection often enter municipal waste streams, necessitating manual sorting and decontamination.
- Aluminium from electrical and electronic waste (e.g., castings, enclosures) undergoes complex separation processes, including flotation, magnetic separation, and melting, to segregate materials based on density, magnetism, and melting points. However, achieving high-purity aluminium recovery remains challenging, necessitating advanced refining technologies.
How Closed-Loop Recycling Systems can be Implemented?
Manufacturing Sectors already employ closed-loop recycling for new scrap due to its economic viability.
End-of-Life Aluminium Recycling, however, necessitates regulatory intervention and financial incentives to enhance material recovery rates. Key Policies Driving Higher Recycling Rates in the EU are:
- Strict Waste Separation Regulations – The EU enforces stringent waste management policies to ensure high aluminium recovery rates.
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Frameworks – Manufacturers are mandated to oversee the entire lifecycle of aluminium products, facilitating closed-loop recycling adoption.
- Energy Efficiency Considerations – Recycling aluminium in a closed-loop system consumes 95% less energy than primary aluminium production, aligning with the EU’s carbon reduction and circular economy goals.
Conclusion
Closed-loop recycling systems are instrumental in enhancing aluminium recovery, maintaining material purity, and reducing reliance on primary production. In fact, the EU’s regulatory framework and emphasis on producer responsibility have significantly contributed to its superior recycling rates, compared to the USA.
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