Recycling Metals (Oxford AQA IGCSE Chemistry)

Economic Implications

It is economically beneficial to recycle metals, especially those that are costly to extract such as aluminium

Recycling is fast becoming a major industry and provides employment which feeds back into the economy

Environment

Mining and extracting metal from ores has detrimental effects on the environment and ecosystems

It is much more energy efficient to recycle metals than it is to extract them as melting and re-moulding requires less energy

Recycling decreases the amount of waste produced, hence saving space at landfill sites and energy in transport

Raw materials

There is a limited supply of every material on Earth

As global populations increase there is greater need for effective recycling methods to attain sustainable development

Mining and extraction use up valuable fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change

Economic Implications

Workers, vehicles and worksites need to be organised and maintained

Materials need to be sorted before they can be recycled which also requires energy and labour

Products made from recycled materials may not always be of the same quality as the original

Environment

Collection and transport of material to be recycled requires energy and fuel