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Sorting and chemistry control remain essential when scrap returns to the material supply chain.
Recover and sort
Collected aluminium scrap is sorted before remelting. Sorting supports a useful feedstock stream; it does not by itself certify an alloy designation. Coatings, mixed alloys and contamination require process-specific handling.
Return to a specified material
Recycled metal can be cast into new ingots or billets, with alloy additions made to reach the target specification. The output must be tested against the intended composition and product requirements.
Compare environmental evidence carefully
Energy and emissions claims depend on the production route and accounting boundary. Use a relevant environmental declaration rather than assigning one universal footprint to every aluminium product.
Procurement questions
Request the alloy certificate, declared recycled-content method and any applicable environmental declaration. Trace the claim to the actual product rather than a company-wide marketing statement.
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Sources and verification
Selected facts checked 14 October 2026. Source data is reference information, not certification of supplied material.
- European Aluminium • Recycling — Live web page · checked 2026-10-14
Follow the stream through sorting and recovery
The International Aluminium Institute distinguishes production scrap from post-consumer feedstock and describes sorting, pretreatment, melting and composition adjustment as connected decisions. Dross and salt-containing residues have their own recovery and storage considerations. Keep recycled-content information separate from final chemistry and mechanical acceptance: the feedstock story does not replace evidence for the delivered alloy condition.
Source: alustory.international-aluminium.org, alustory.international-aluminium.org, international-aluminium.org
