Recycling rate
Recycling quota or recycling rate describes the proportion of recycled raw materials in different populations . Two definitions are common. Called recycling quota
- the proportion of materials or valuable materials actually recycled from the waste during disposal ;
- in the industrial production of consumer goods, on the one hand, the quotient between the mass of reusable components or the usable material (e.g. glass or paper ) or raw materials (e.g. metals such as gold , aluminum or rare earths ) and the total mass of the old material to be recycled m old ( relationship number ). In doing so, the required effort, cost-effectiveness as well as the quality and the actually given marketing possibilities of the obtained materials and components are deliberately ignored.
A distinction is made between:
- Secondary components: separated and reusable components such as complete wheels, engines, doors in automobiles. These have the mass m BT .
- Secondary raw materials: materials that can be recycled, such as metals, broken glass, plastic. These have the mass m mat .
A distinction is therefore made between
- Component recycling rate R BT = 100% x Σ m BT / m old
- material recycling rate R S = 100% x Σ m mat / m alt
In many cases, there is little or no component recycling for reasons of effort and cost. An example of this is electrical and especially small electrical appliances. In such cases, a separation between a material recycling rate R S and a component recycling rate R BT makes no sense, since the number and mass of the components can be neglected compared to the secondary raw materials that can be recycled, such as iron , non-ferrous metal and plastic . For reasons of simpler representation and comparability, the secondary components are therefore often not shown separately in practice and recorded with the secondary raw materials in a common recycling rate R.
The formula for the recycling rate R is therefore R = 100% x Σ m Mat / Σ m Alt
The recycling rates are given in percent using the above formulas. A recycling rate R of 0% means that the old material or device is not recycled; a recycling rate R of 100% means that all materials and components are reused in production.
Alternative basic sizes
Compared to other conceivable alternatives, such as volume , energy content or component or material value, the SI base quantity mass has the advantage of being easily ascertainable and applicable to all materials. In addition, it is hardly subject to fluctuations. Alternative recycling quotas based on volume, energy content, component or material value are conceivable, but have hardly caught on.
Ecological importance
The rate is particularly interesting if the initial extraction (e.g. of the metals through mining ) of the raw materials is more energy-intensive than the expenditure for recycling. The recycling rate can thus be proportional to the energy savings . In addition, by saving the use of mining in mining, the ecological consequences of the extraction of raw materials through the final storage of overburden or the introduction of highly toxic chemicals during extraction (e.g. cyanide in gold extraction ) are mitigated.
Subtypes
In the metal industry, a distinction is sometimes made between sub-types or the sub-processes are broken down even further
- Recycling input rate or Recycled Content = (Recycled scrap metal ) / (Produced metal)
- EOL recycling rate = (Recycled scrap metal) / (Scrap metal that can be used for recycling)
- EOL collection rate = (scrap metal collected) / (scrap metal that can be used for recycling)
- EOL Processing Rate = (Recycled Scrap) / (Collected Scrap)
where EOL stands for " End of Life ", ie end of life (of the product).
Examples
The ratio of the annual amount of secondary copper to the total copper production is over 50%.
According to an answer to a parliamentary question from the Bundestag member Bärbel Höhn , the recycling rates of the dual system (“ Green Dot (Germany) ” for light packaging waste ) are 92 percent for tinplate , 60 percent for aluminum and just 42 percent for plastics .
Further topics
literature
- Boris Wilke: Recycling-friendly construction of small electrical appliances using the example of telephone devices. VDI Verlag: Düsseldorf ISBN 3-18-326901-5
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Philipp Peters, badische-zeitung.de: Yellow sack in short supply . Badische Zeitung , January 3, 2015
- ↑ http://www.ilzsg.org/static/recyclingrates.aspx?from=1
- ↑ a b Recycling Rates of Metals. A status report . UNEP International Resource Panel. Archived from the original on January 1st, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.ingenieur.de/Themen/Rohstoffe/Recycling-ergiebigste-Kupfermine-Welt
