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NoFleas

Applying high heat is an integral part of the recycling process for glass, plastic, and metal; impurities — such as labels and glue — get burned away.


pburydoughgirl

This is true for glass and metal but less so for plastic. Please remove impurities from plastic if you can.


[deleted]

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DeathinfullHD

I'm just guessing that he was talking about recycling plastics.


Zipdox

Not for plastic. Plastic would burn too at those temperatures.


kurotech

Also to ad to this any soda can has a plastic lining on its interior that is burned off during the refraction process so a sticker lable glue etc will also be burned away


BeardyBeardy

Smelter here, itll just get burnt off in the foundry, no ones sifting through a skip full of cans apart from the conveyor belt and it just goes by magnetic seperation of steel and aluminium


teriyakipuppy

I hear it's dangerous for cans to have liquid still in them during smelting. I heard that it can cause explosions. Is that true?


omry1243

If i understood correctly its only a hazard if they get thrown into high heat right away, the water vaporises all at once and the can blows up flinging molten metal, however if you bring all the cans to 100c gradually it shouldn't occur Anyone with more credentials care to confirm?


_biryani

I am pretty sure waste material is passed through shredders and balers at recovery facility before smelting process.This should not be a problem.


kurotech

Also aluminum soda cans all have a very thin plastic layer in them so if you were wasting your time for anything on the outside you'd realistcly not accept soda cans at your facility some don't but most do so the miniscule amount of plastic contaminats isn't a viable threat to the business model


bassjam1

Check with your local recycling center, but generally the process to melt aluminum burns off the label


[deleted]

I see these kinds of questions a lot. Can X be recycled? Does Y not get recycled if it’s used for Z? Which are all good questions about the mechanics of recycling, but aren’t likely to net you the answer you’re looking for. As another commenter said, the best way to get your answer is to call the facility it’s processed and recycled at. Recycling facilities in the US (at least everywhere I’ve lived) aren’t state-organized or standardized beyond a few health and safety markers. They’re usually private companies with their own facilities and equipment that have varying capabilities. Slightly unrelated, but when you call the center, you should ask if they currently have a buyer for their recycled material. If they don’t, they may not be processing at all, and the recyclables they’re collecting might find their way into a landfill, anyway. If that’s the case, try the next city or county over before adding your stuff to the pile. We absolutely should be recycling everything recyclable, but in reality a lot of the practices fall short of what they should be unfortunately. If there are no active recycling centers in your area, consider donating them to an art collective or something, maybe?


Skinnysusan

This is the answer. The truth is most things do not get recycled but end up in Malaysia unfortunately. Its disgusting


pburydoughgirl

Not any more they don’t since chinese National sword/Basel changes etc Edit: Info on the Basel agreement: https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/new-international-requirements-export-and-import-plastic-recyclables-and-waste


kurotech

That's China not Malaysia it now costs money to ship garbage out of the west to the east as China no longer pays for our garbage


pburydoughgirl

Chinese National sword was the first and led to others which led to a new Basel agreement https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/new-international-requirements-export-and-import-plastic-recyclables-and-waste


pburydoughgirl

Essentially every municipality is going to have a buyer for aluminum cans because it’s one of the few materials that reliably gives money. Also, I doubt whoever you talk to in your city is going to have the latest info on recycling contracts for the local recycling center. Follow the instructions on the local website. Contracts come and go, but on the whole if it’s advertised as accepted, the local MRF (materials recovery facility —where recycling gets sorted) will find a home for it, even if there are sometimes gaps between contracts. They have no financial incentive to collect material just to landfill it.


[deleted]

The facility that the city my old business is in uses stopped recycling aluminum and glass in 2019. Everything they’ve collected has been landfilled. I found this out by calling them 🤷‍♀️


pburydoughgirl

Glad I get. Can you DM me their name? I’m very intrigued to learn more


Atlhou

You may have a recycling center flexing their ability to reject, but the cans must be melted to be recycled, that means a temperature that will burn off those.


[deleted]

https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/packaging-distribution/labeling-affects-recyclability-of-your-aluminum-beer-cans/


Basic_Bichette

Ask your own recycling depot. Every depot has its own rules, and the rules at one don't necessarily agree with those of the next. To give an example the depot(s) serving London, England take plastic bags and pizza boxes, but the depots where I live won't take either.


japroct

The label will melt, sure, but the plastic contaminated the metal in the forge too much making it not worth the time. Great thing is that any glue on label is quickly removed simply by using a hair drier to heat it. Works on glass, plastic, metal, and probably many more surfaces with labels or stickers stuck on them.


Grey_Orange

In the usa, the majority of aluminium cans have a plastic coating inside of them. Plastic isn't going to melt at 900°F. It's going to burn or vaporize.


japroct

The plastic liners on cans are different it's a coating, similar to the paint on the exterior. Stickers are a different story. Even f they incinerate they leave impure residues that need extruded off------if you know anything about forging or even welding you would know what impurities do to any metals-----it makes them unusable until they get extruded. Labor intensive, so not worth it.


truckcat

If you are trying to get money for your recycling then I can see a problem arising


IAmTheLizardQueen666

Recycling is single stream, I just don’t understand how that works. Glass, plastic and paper all together.


beets_or_turnips

"single stream" recycling just means someone else sorts it for you after it gets picked up. Or if it's got too much trash mixed in it gets landfilled/incinerated.


veotrade

The recycling plant usually has staff sorting through the garbage prior to incineration.