With aluminum prices up 20%, recycling startups bet on AI to cash in

# Recycling startups are using AI to recover more aluminum from waste, which could be a cheaper alternative to mining new metal as aluminum prices keep rising. Since AI can spot and sort materials more accurately than humans, these companies think they can turn old products into valuable metal at scale. This matters because aluminum is expensive right now and critical for everything from phones to cars, so recycled sources could help companies avoid supply shortages.