_By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling_
Pretty much every metal on the periodic table can be recycled, but most aren't, according to a recent a study that also examined barriers to closing the loop with these materials.
"Metals are infinitely recyclable in principle but, in practice, recycling is often inefficient or essentially nonexistent because of limits imposed by social behavior, product design, recycling technologies and the thermodynamics of separation," reads the [abstract to an article][1] published in _Science_ by researchers Barbara K. Reck and T.E. Graedel titled "Challenges in Metal Recycling." The new issue of _Science_ has a number of recycling-related articles this month.
An accompanying [post][2] on the website of _Scientific American_, notes that almost all lead is recycled due to strong regulations meant to prevent pollution. Aluminum, copper, nickel, steel and zinc are the only other metals recycled at rates higher than 50 percent. However, almost every other metal is trashed.
According to the article, a big obstacle to increasing the recycling of metals is the intricate design of products, which makes extracting the often small amounts of material more difficult. Additionally alloying metals, which involves mixing different metals together, also presents a barrier to recycling by contributing significantly to contamination.
"As a global society, we are currently far away from a closed-loop material system," reads the abstract to the article. "Much improvement is possible, but limitations of many kinds – not all of them technological -- will preclude complete closure of the materials cycle."
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[1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/337/6095/690.abstract
[2]: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/08/09/recycling-reality-humans-set-to-trash-most-elements-on-the-periodic-table/
[3]: http://www.resource-recycling.com/images/e-newsletterimages/RRC2012Banner.jpg (RRC 2012 Banner)
[4]: http://www.rrconference.com/
[5]: http://www.resource-recycling.com/images/e-newsletterimages/RRe-news081712.html
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