4. Conclusion

Aluminum recycling has a significantly lower environmental impact than production from ore. In fact, the energy consumed and greenhouse gases emitted by recycled aluminum production represent only 10% and 5% of those from primary aluminum production, respectively.

Aluminum recycling rates, i.e., the ratio of recycled material to waste, are high but vary by sector and country. For example, in France, the recycling rate is over 90% in construction but less than 50% for packaging. The aluminum incorporation rate, i.e., the amount of recycled material relative to total production, is 30% worldwide. This indicates that aluminum production from ore remains very significant. In other words, global aluminum demand exceeds the amount of recycled aluminum available.

After collection, sorting end-of-life waste allows aluminum to be separated from other...