CAN IT

The plastics industry need look no further than the metals industry it has largely superseded to find a benchmark for recycling, the Economist reports. Materials such as aluminium and steel boast recycling rates of 60-80%, compared with rates for plastics of 10-20%. Threequarters of all aluminium ever smelted remains in use, and there is a thriving market for used aluminium cans. Recycling aluminium saves 95% of energy compared with smelting new metals. The saving for plastics is 88%.

Plastic polymers can be chemically unwound into their original hydrocarbons. In April, a Dutch company started selling sports shoes with soles made from chewing gum scraped off the streets of Amsterdam.

1 & 2. Shoes made from recycled compounds, including chewing gum, which makes up 20% of the sole. 3. Aluminium cans await recycling in Florida. 4. Aluminium is recycled in aircraft wing and fuselage components. 1

2

3