…is probably bad for the planet.
I still recall the day that I saw a truck come by and threw the contents of both the recycle bin and the trash bin in the same place. But we still separate, for no obvious good reason except, I guess, if not to virtue signal, to at least avoid opprobrium from the neighbors.
I’ve even grown suspicious of Al recycling. The energy budget appears to be incredibly favorable, but when the rubber meets the road I still have to pay people to take it off my hands. Whether that’s through my garbage service (and its subsidies) or me hauling it to them for a small return. If it’s as obviously favorable as the life-cycle analyses out there indicate, why aren’t they paying landfills for the rights to mine Al cans there? Why don’t I have people competing to accept my cans?
My spidey sense says something is off based on the actual economy of Al recycling as currently implemented, but I don’t know what.
Look for a commercial metal recycling company in your area. Wash the aluminum cans, crumple them and then toss them in a heavy grade plastic sack in the garage. Turn them in as convenient for cash$$.
A few years ago, my mother’s town (which has garbage separation) found itself no longer able to get rid of glass. So, they implemented an idea, with no public input or warning of course, to deal with it by finding a use for it.
The roads are usually gritted in winter with volcanic cinders, so they decided that ground up glass would replace it. They began applying ground glass (broken up to the size of fine gravel, about 1/8th to 1/4 inch) on the roads. Shockingly, and utterly unexpectedly (who could have seen this coming?) this did not end well; pets, kids, and wildlife did not get along well with all the fine glass shards. Oh, and it was sub par as road grit (for snow and ice) too. The project was quickly ended.
Now, they still tell people to separate it, but it all goes into the same trucks to the same landfill as the rest of the trash.
I know a company in Midlothian, TX that produces abrasive for blasting and tumbling from glass. I don’t know if they use consumer waste or not. They’re not interested in small quantities. I doubt that they’re the only one.