Which of the following components of solid waste is reclaimed by mechanical recovery ?
MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,
Answer: D
Mechanical recovery reclaims metals.
In a materials recovery facility, mixed solid waste is shredded and passed through machines that sort it by physical properties. Magnetic separators pull out ferrous metals such as steel cans, and eddy current separators throw out non-ferrous metals such as aluminium. Metals are the component most easily and profitably recovered this way.
Food waste and leaves and plant debris are biodegradable; they are recovered by biological processing such as composting or anaerobic digestion, not by mechanical separation. Plastics can be sorted, but their many types make mechanical recovery much less effective than for metals.
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