AQA GCSE Chemistry Trilogy: Reduce, Recycle & Reuce

Reduce, Recycle & Reuse:

RECYCLING: The process of collecting and processing materials so that they can be used again.

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Aluminium:

• Is a recyclable metal
• ~ 8kg used per person annually
• 2% of all power is used to create aluminium
• Bauxite ore is mined and crushed to collect aluminium oxide (Al2O3). This is then made molten to extract the metal via electrolysis, which requires lots of energy

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Recycling Metal is Important as:

• Ores are becoming extremely scarce
• It is expensive to extract metals from ores
• The obtaining and production of metals can damage the environment

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Environmental Considerations:

Transportation and Digging:

• Requires burning of fossil fuels
• Increases greenhouse gas emissions

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Scarring of the Landscape:

• Mining destroys habitats, reducing the biodiversity

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Dust and Noise Pollution:

• Vehicles can produce dust and noise pollution   * These can make life frustrating and have potential health risks

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Toxic Waste Runoff:

• Water becomes polluted from rain through exposed ores and slag heaps
• The groundwater becomes filled with heavy metals

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Open-cost mining → Requires lots of energy → Energy demands have environmental consequences → Recycling reduces our energy demands