With aluminum prices up 20%, recycling startups bet on AI to cash in
Key takeaways
- Rising gas prices have been a recurring headline since the Trump administration started its war against Iran in late February, but it’s not the only commodity affected by the conflict.
- Even before the war in Iran, the U.S. government had flagged aluminum as a critical mineral.
- “Aluminum might be 1% of the garbage stream, but it often trades for over $1,000 per ton,” Matanya Horowitz, CTO at waste sorting startup Amp, told TechCrunch.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Rising gas prices have been a recurring headline since the Trump administration started its war against Iran in late February, but it’s not the only commodity affected by the conflict. Around 10% of the world’s aluminum is made in the Gulf region, so prices of the metal have reached levels not seen in the last several decades.
Even before the war in Iran, the U.S. government had flagged aluminum as a critical mineral. A large share of U.S. demand for aluminum is met by imports, and much of the metal the country does produce is recycled. For recycling startups, it’s a good time to be in business.
“Aluminum might be 1% of the garbage stream, but it often trades for over $1,000 per ton,” Matanya Horowitz, CTO at waste sorting startup Amp, told TechCrunch. “It actually ends up being one of the most significant individual commodities.”