Economic and Environmental Evaluation of Aluminium Recycling based on a Belgian Case Study

The increasing demand for aluminium (Al) has led to the significant growth of secondary Al production. Although Al is one of the most recycled metal streams, the presence of impurities, such as iron, silicon and copper, has limited the environmental and economic benefits of recycling Al. These competing interests have led to the choice of recycling options that is suboptimal. This paper evaluates the economic and environmental effects of recycling different Al scrap qualities based on data collected from a Belgian recycling facility. Observations from the case study show that the profit-driven recycling market has led to a recycling system that does not produce the best environmental impact outcome. Maximising the environmental benefits of material recycling is often secondary to profit generation from the recyclers' perspective. There is a need for stricter measures, such as environmental tax on primary Al production, to address the environmental and economic challenges in the current recycling systems.