Downcycling

[1][2] Often, this is due to the accumulation of tramp elements in secondary metals, which may exclude the latter from high-quality applications.

He despairs of the German situation and recalls the supply of a large quantity of reclaimed woodblock from an English supplier for a contract in Nuremberg while just down the road a load of similar blocks was scrapped.

It was a pinky looking aggregate with pieces of handmade brick, old tiles and discernible parts of useful old items mixed with crushed concrete.

When plastics other than those found in soda and water bottles are recycled, they are mixed with different plastics to produce a hybrid of lower quality, which is then molded into something amorphous and cheap, such as a park bench or a speed bump... Aluminum is another valuable but constantly downcycled material.

[8] A detailed discussion on the relation between downcycling, open loop recycling and their environmental impact is provided by Geyer et al.

Downcycling symbol
Downcycling of steel from scrap cars into buildings. Vehicle steel scrap, which is contaminated with other metals, is often remelted into construction steel that can contain up to 0.4% of copper. [ 3 ]