Secondary Recycling (also known as mechanical recycling) is the process of reprocessing waste materials into new products without significantly altering their chemical structure. This method is commonly used for materials like plastics, paper, metals, and glass.
.jpg)
Key Features of Secondary Recycling:
1. Physical Reprocessing – The material is cleaned, shredded, melted, or remolded into new products.
2. No Chemical Change – Unlike primary or tertiary recycling, the material’s molecular structure remains largely intact.
3. Commonly Recycled Materials:
– Plastics (e.g., PET bottles turned into fibers or new containers)
– Paper & Cardboard (shredded and pulped into new paper products)
– Metals (melted and recast into new metal items)
– Glass (crushed and melted to form new glass products)
.jpg)
Advantages:
✔ Energy-efficient compared to producing virgin materials
✔ Reduces landfill waste
✔ Lowers demand for raw resources
Limitations:
❌ Quality may degrade after multiple cycles (e.g., plastic becoming brittle)
❌ Contamination can reduce recyclability
❌ Not all materials can be mechanically recycled indefinitely
Comparison with Other Recycling Types:
– Primary (Closed-loop) Recycling: Reusing a material for the same purpose (e.g., aluminum cans → new aluminum cans).
– Tertiary (Chemical) Recycling: Breaking down materials chemically to produce raw feedstocks (e.g., pyrolysis of plastics into oil).
– Quaternary (Energy Recovery): Burning waste for energy rather than recycling.
Examples of Secondary Recycling:
– Turning old newspapers into egg cartons
– Melting down HDPE milk jugs to make plastic lumber
– Crushing glass bottles to create new glass containers
Secondary recycling plays a crucial role in sustainable waste management but works best when combined with other methods like reduction and reuse. ♻️