Recycling to itself list

[orbit]

I would like to get list of items that recycle to itself.
I would suggest updating that to wiki.

I found some items that recycle to itself but it is mostly by luck/misstake I haven't found any key what items rather than complex or unique..

Biolab
Biter Egg

What are another items that recycle to itself? I haven't found a list..

[DaddyCage]

From what I can tell, any item that can't be recycled into requisite ingredients basically just has a 25% chance to return itself or 75% to be destroyed.

[CyberCider]

The recycler description explains this somewhat. But it doesn’t cover everything. As far as I know, these are all the conditions:
- Items created by smelting or chemistry (including biochemistry)
- Items created by a recipe that outputs multiple different items (uranium processing, fruit mashing…)
- Items created with no inputs (technically bioflux isn’t an ingredient of biter eggs, it’s actually the fuel that powers the building that creates them out of nothing)
- Items created by asteroid crushing
- Science packs
- Biolabs (They’re a specific exception. Probably because it would be strange to un-hatch an egg after it’s grown into a biolab.)

Also, batteries are an exception to rule 1! They are made in chemical plants, but can be recycled. As far as I know, this list should cover like 99% of all the items in the game.
But the wiki is still slowly updating. They have already added a “recycling result” information to some item pages, and I believe it should eventually be added to every page.

[Koub]

[Koub] Moved to Gameplay Help

[AileTheAlien]

batteries are an exception to rule 1! They are made in chemical plants, but can be recycled.

They're made in chemical plants, but the chemical reaction takes place when they're used, not in their manufacture. (Reusable batteries, not disposable ones.) That's how it makes sense to me. (If anything, I think batteries should just be made in assemblers. )

[BlueTemplar]

So I was about to post this bug report :

[2.0.21] Tungsten Carbide uses a simplified recycling recipe instead of its normal one
AFAIK the only items that have a simplified recycling process, by which items are recycled into themselves rather than their components, are :
1.) the results of furnace smelting recipes : iron, copper, steel... (the foundry isn't a furnace)
2.) items which don't have (solid) items as ingredients in their basic recipes : holmium plates, biter eggs, all the ores, solid fuel, spoilage...
3.) items which don't have a basic recipe (only alternative recipes or no recipes) : ice, (fish?), all the ores, solid fuel, spoilage...

(I guess in game logic it's more something like a single rule, and is the other way around ?
I.) To use complex recycling, by which ingredients rather than the item itself are returned, an item must have a basic recipe inside a machine with a configurable recipe selector, and that basic recipe must require at least one (solid) item.)

The only other item that seems to break these recycling rules, and also gets a simplified recycling recipe is Superconductor :
2.0.7: Superconductors recyclable?

And the reason given for both :

The reason they aren’t is because all tier 3 modules have their unique ingredient not recycle into ingredients but into itself. We could revisit for the suprconductor though.

But in both cases, this exception, if kept, should be probably communicated to the player (hence the 'bug' category).

Also :

[...]

The four tier 3 modules components are spoilage, biter eggs, tungsten carbide, and Superconductors. Of the four of those, only Superconductors comes from a non smelting/chemistry(biology) item so the Recycler seems like it should give back it's ingredients, rather than act as if Superconductors came out of a smelting/chemistry recipe.

This is wrong (see above).
But this is a misconception directly spelled out in the game

The recycler reverses most processes, except smelting and chemistry.

«Chemistry» to mean only items with no (solid) ingredients is quite misleading :
- A bunch of recipes are made in the chemical plant(s), but

Then I double-checked other chemical plant recipes than batteries, and ended up more confused :
Plastic and Explosives and Carbon and Lithium and Flamethrower Ammo have a simple recycling recipe, while if following rule I.), they should have a complex one.
What's are the rule(s) here ? Is it just a bunch of special cases ??

Is it rule I.), but chemical(/cryogenic??) plants are excepted, but for Batteries ??

So the «reverses most processes except smelting and chemistry» from the Recycler tech description was mostly correct, I was just biased because I thought of batteries first.
Also looks like spoilable items just get turned into spoilage ?? I didn't check for those, not being on Nauvis / Gleba.

And looks like there are more exceptions to rule I.)

I.) To use complex recycling, by which ingredients rather than the item itself are returned, an item must have a basic recipe inside a machine with a configurable recipe selector, and that basic recipe must require at least one (solid) item.

than
1-ChemPlant recipes (and their Batteries as a double exception), I already mentioned
2-Superconductors and
3-Tungsten Carbide, but from this thread, looks like it's the case for
4-Biolab and all (?) the
5-Science Packs too ? (Confirmed on the Fulgoran ones.)

And there are certainly balance considerations here, consider :

spoilers for cheesing the game

Base rocket fuel recycling off of the Aquilo recipe
[2.0.21] Recycling rocket fuel on Aquilo eliminates need for crude oil

and probably for shipping science packs then «decompressing» them ?
While Batteries get a double exception because it makes Fulgora more interesting ??

Other more or less relevant threads :
Plastic recycling should produce coal
Show Recycling info in Factoriopedia
[2.0.16] Inconsistent recycle times for recipes that yield multiple items
Put the recycle to result in the Factoriopedia

[IsaacOscar]

FYI https://github.com/wube/factorio-data/b ... g.lua#L149 is the code defining what recycles to itself.
Fluids and recipes with multiple outputs can't be recycled as per by https://github.com/wube/factorio-data/b ... ng.lua#L75

Moreover, the recipes listed with "auto_recycle = false" in these files will recycle to themselves:
https://github.com/wube/factorio-data/b ... pdates.lua and
https://github.com/wube/factorio-data/b ... recipe.lua.

There are quite a lot of auto_recycle = false recipes in that last file, but I suspect most of them are redundant with the generic checks in the first file I linked (of course if you play with the quality mod without the space age mod, the last two files I linked are irrelevant).

[BlueTemplar]

Thanks !

So, let's see, exceptions to

To use complex recycling, by which ingredients rather than the item itself are returned, an item must have a basic recipe inside a machine with a configurable recipe selector, and that basic recipe must require at least one (solid) item and only output a single (solid) item.

(multi-result incompatibility added, thanks for reminding me)
(in vanilla SA)

Code: Select all

if recipe.category == "recycling" then return end

Not one, can't configure recipes for recycler.

Code: Select all

  -- Allow recipes to opt-out
  if recipe.auto_recycle == false then return end

Will deal with these after.

-- Disallow smelting and chemistry recipes

Code: Select all

  if recipe.subgroup == "empty-barrel" then return end

I don't understand what this is about, filled barrels recycle into empty barrels (and empty barrels into steel) just fine ??

Code: Select all

  if recipe.category == "smelting" then return end

Not one, can't configure recipes for furnaces.
EDIT : checked anyway to be sure, and as expected, these are the 4 iron / copper / steel plate and iron brick recipes, and SA added lithium plate.

Code: Select all

  if recipe.category == "chemistry" then return end

Yup, that's pretty much the big exception 1.) Made in a chemical / cryo plant.

Code: Select all

  if recipe.category == "chemistry-or-cryogenics" and recipe.name ~= "battery" then return end

in space-age/prototypes/recipe.lua :
Acid Neutralisation, Steam Condensation : irrelevant, doesn't produce a solid item.
Carbon, Lithium, Ammoniacal Solution Separation (Ice), Solid Fuel from Ammonia, Ammonia Rocket Fuel : already exception 1.)
Several recipes also get updated into this category :

Code: Select all

space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["sulfuric-acid"].category = "chemistry-or-cryogenics"
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe.sulfur.category = "chemistry-or-cryogenics"
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["plastic-bar"].category = "chemistry-or-cryogenics"
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe.explosives.category = "chemistry-or-cryogenics"
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe.battery.category = "chemistry-or-cryogenics"

All are covered by exception 1.)
... except the exception to the exception : Battery

Code: Select all

  if recipe.category == "crushing" then return end

All of these 9 (have a chance to) return multiple items, already covered.

Code: Select all

  local recycling_metallurgy = {["big-mining-drill"]=true, ["turbo-transport-belt"]=true, ["turbo-underground-belt"]=true, ["turbo-splitter"]=true}
  if recipe.category == "metallurgy" and recycling_metallurgy[recipe.name] == nil then return end

The 4 of the first one are just normal recipes anyway.
20 recipes in this category, for the other 16 recipes :
Metallurgic Science Pack : another exception, but we already know that Science Packs are the exception 2.)3.)
Molten Iron / Copper from Lava (Stone) : not an exception, this isn't a basic recipe for Stone
Molten Iron / Copper : nope, produces fluid
Casting Iron / Steel / Copper / Iron Gear Wheel / Iron Stick / Pipe / Copper Cable : nope, requires only fluid, isn't a basic recipe for none of these
Casting Pipe to Ground / Low Density Structures / Concrete : nope, isn't a basic recipe for none of these
Tungsten Plate : whoops, that's one exception for sure (though you could be forgiven for missing it considering how similar it feels to other plates).
(Not sure how Foundry ended up alone in the metallurgy-or-assembling category ??)

Code: Select all

  if recipe.category == "organic" then return end

13 recipes :
Spoilable would be the big exception 3.) 2.)
Copper / Iron Bacteria Cultivation, Pentapod Egg, Bioflux : spoilable exception
Nutrients from Yumako Mash and Bioflux : not a basic recipe (nutrients don't have one), also spoilable exception
Rocket Fuel from Jelly, Bioplastic, Biosulfur, Burnt Spoilage (into Carbon) : not a basic recipe
Biolubricant : not a basic recipe, doesn't make a (solid) item
Carbon Fiber : uh oh, another exception, didn't see that one coming ! (Note that it's not about having a spoilable item as an ingredient because

Biochamber returns fresh pentapod eggs

.)
Agricultural Science Pack : already mentioned Exception 3.)

Weirdly, the

Code: Select all

category = "organic-or-assembling"

doesn't seem to be included here ?
It has 6 recipes :
Nutrients from Spoilage / Fish / Biter Egg : wouldn't be basic recipes
Biochamber : known to recycle indeed
Tree Seed from Wood : actually uses basic recycling, but is not a basic recipe (despite not having any other)
Rocket Fuel updated to this category : would have been an exception

Code: Select all

  if recipe.category == "cryogenics" and recipe.name ~= "railgun-turret" and recipe.name ~= "railgun" and recipe.name ~= "cryogenic-plant" and recipe.name ~= "fusion-reactor" and recipe.name ~= "fusion-generator" then return end

Ok, this is spoilerish for me, I'll get back to these later.

Code: Select all

  if string.find(recipe.name, "science") and string.find(recipe.name, "pack") then return end

And here it is, Exception 3.)

Code: Select all

  -- Items which go into T3 modules recycle into themselves
  if recipe.name == "tungsten-carbide" then return end
  if recipe.name == "superconductor" then return end

Tungsten Carbide and Superconductor, the already mentioned exceptions.

Code: Select all

  if recipe.name == "biolab" then return end

Biolab is another already mentioned exception.

----

Ok, coming back to

Code: Select all

  -- Allow recipes to opt-out
  if recipe.auto_recycle == false then return end

Code: Select all

grep -R "auto_recycle = false" | wc -l

54

(9 of them in base-data-updates.lua)
Ok, I'll come to these a bit later...

[BlueTemplar]

Ok, first the 9 from base-data-updates.lua :

Code: Select all

space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe.sulfur.auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe.landfill.auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["copper-plate"].auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["iron-plate"].auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["uranium-processing"].auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["kovarex-enrichment-process"].auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["nuclear-fuel-reprocessing"].auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["uranium-fuel-cell"].auto_recycle = false
space-age/base-data-updates.lua:data.raw.recipe["plastic-bar"].auto_recycle = false

Redundant for Sulfur and Plastic, they were already in the chemistry category.
Redundant for Copper / Iron Plate, they were already in the smelting category.
Uranium Processing, Kovarex Enrichment Process, : not an exception to my (updated) rule, because either returns or has a chance to return two results (if I'm understanding correctly how % results work for the one that sums up to 1, and the somewhat obscure 'catalyst' property doesn't change this ?)
Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing : not a basic recipe (U-238 has none)
Uranium Fuel Cell : ah, another exception ! (why ?)
Landfill : another big exception I think I saw in another thread (I guess because it makes it too easy to compress stone for space cargo ?)

Ok, now for those in recipe.lua :
pentapod-egg, rocket-fuel-from-jelly, bioflux, bioplastic, biosulfur, biolubricant, carbon-fiber, burnt-spoilage : redundant with organic category
the 9 crushing recipes redundant with the crushing category
thruster-fuel, thruster-oxidizer, ice-melting, advanced-thruster-fuel, advanced-thruster-oxidizer, coal-synthesis, holmium-solution redundant with chemistry category
acid-neutralization, steam-condensation, carbon, lithium, ammoniacal-solution-separation redundant with chemistry-or-cryogenics category
molten-iron-from-lava, molten-copper-from-lava, molten-iron, molten-copper, casting-low-density-structure redundant with metallurgy category
Biter Egg : ah, that's actually a new one, and mentioned in this thread, but for where my rule is concerned it fails several requirements : it isn't made in a machine with a selectable recipe, spoils, and doesn't have a solid ingredient.
Fish Breeding : not a basic recipe and a spoilable
nutrients-from-fish, nutrients-from-biter-egg : not a basic recipe (nutrients have none)
scrap-recycling : actually not in the recycling category, but in the recycling-or-hand-crafting one (??). Is not a basic recipe even for ice or holmium ore.
holmium-plate : doesn't have any solid ingredients
lithium-plate : redundant with smelting category
fluoroketone, fluoroketone-cooling, fusion-power-cell : redundant with cryogenics category
wood-processing (seed) : not a basic recipe (despite not having any other)

Ok, hopefully I didn't miss any.

Next for gathering all the rules and exception.

[BlueTemplar]

My recycling rules
Items can have a simple recycling output, whereupon they are turned into themselves (at 25% chance), potentially with more quality.
Or they can have a complex recycling output, whereupon they are turned into the (solid) components used to craft them (still at 25% chance), potentially with more quality.
1.) The ingredients of the Main Recipe (if one exists) are used to determine the components returned as the recycling output of complex recycling.
(Alternative Recipes are ignored for this.) See Factoriopedia for which are which.
(Some items do not have any main recipe, only alternative ones, for instance : ice, nutrients, tree seeds, U-238, fish... or no recipes at all : spoilage...)
2.) Fluids are ignored.
3.) That main recipe must have at least one (solid) ingredient and cannot have more than one (solid) result.
(I'm actually not sure there are any main recipes that fail the last half of this.)
4.) The machine(s) using that recipe must have a recipe selector.
(Drills, Captive Biter Spawners, Furnaces... fail this (Foundry is not a Furnace, and does not.))

And exceptions to the above rules :
(with a simple recycling output instead of a complex one like they should according to the above)
A.) Recipes made in Chemical / Cryo Plants.
Ā.ā) Battery does have a complex recycling output despite being made in a Chemical / Cryo plant.
B.) Spoilables
C.) Science Packs
D.) Miscellaneous :
- Landfill
- Tungsten Carbide and Superconductor (along with biter egg and spoilage (which aren't exceptions), these 4 are ingredients for T3 modules)
- Tungsten Plate
- Carbon Fiber
- Biolab
- Uranium Fuel Cell
= the Pistol actually has a main crafting recipe : 5 iron & copper plates, and so gets a complex recycling output — but it's not craftable and so hidden in the Factoriopedia
TODO : some items are in a 3rd recycling category and get turned into Spoilage instead.

(I probably still need to check some spoilables and Aquilo recipes, please correct me if I missed anything.)

----

I'm slightly bothered by not finding yumako and jellynut processing in the lua logic : they fail my «not a main recipe» and «multiple recipe results» rules. (I've now tested it and they have simple recycling.)
Also, don't the fruits and seeds count as «biological» and should be turned into spoilage instead according to what the Recycler tech says ??

Spoilage itself follows simple recycling too (it doesn't have any recipe !), but where is that logic located in the files ??

[IsaacOscar]

Code: Select all

  if recipe.subgroup == "empty-barrel" then return end

I don't understand what this is about, filled barrels recycle into empty barrels (and empty barrels into steel) just fine ??

That refers to the fluid barrel emptying recipes (I.e. those that take a filled barrel, and produce a fluid and an empty-barrel). Of course this exclusion is redundant.

[IsaacOscar]

Also I've made a simple mod that adds all the recycling recipes to factoriopedia: https://mods.factorio.com/mod/recycling-factoriopedia. If you want to modify it with settings so you can hide/show only self-recycling stuff etc. I'm happy to update the mod.

For e.g. you could add a check for self recycling recipes, that they follow the pattern:

Code: Select all

recipe.ingredients = {{type = "item", name = item.name, amount = 1, ignored_by_stats = 1}}
recipe.results = {{type = "item", name = item.name, amount = 1, probability = 0.25, ignored_by_stats = 1}}

But I can't be bother at the moment.

[IsaacOscar]

Spoilage itself follows simple recycling too (it doesn't have any recipe !), but where is that logic located in the files ??

That may be because things with no recipe recycle to themselves (see https://github.com/wube/factorio-data/b ... es.lua#L12)

[BlueTemplar]

Ah, thanks.
Sigh, it's a shame this is hidden in data-updates... (the reason being, that complex recycling seems to actually require that 'mod' ?!)

Thanks a lot for the mod, but I'm playing vanilla for my first SA game.

Code: Select all

  if recipe.subgroup == "empty-barrel" then return end

I don't understand what this is about, filled barrels recycle into empty barrels (and empty barrels into steel) just fine ??

That refers to the fluid barrel emptying recipes (I.e. those that take a filled barrel, and produce a fluid and an empty-barrel). Of course this exclusion is redundant.

Hmm, but it actually is a complex recipe : if it was a simple recipe, they would return filled barrels, not empty ones !

[IsaacOscar]

Ah, thanks.
Sigh, it's a shame this is hidden in data-updates... (the reason being, that complex recycling seems to actually require that 'mod' ?!)

I honestly don't know why recycling is par of the quality mod when the code shows no relation between the two, I reckon the recycler should be in space age with all the other planet specific buildings

Thanks a lot for the mod, but I'm playing vanilla for my first SA game.

Same, but you can always use it on a separate save if you're curios about specific recycling recipes.

Hmm, but it actually is a complex recipe : if it was a simple recipe, they would return filled barrels, not empty ones !

Hmm after-reading https://github.com/wube/factorio-data/b ... ng.lua#L75, it seems that if a recipe has multiple outputs, as long as only one of them is not a fluid, it can be recycled. Other than barrel emptying, are there any such recipes?

[BlueTemplar]

Off the top of my head in vanilla I can think of Ammoniacal Solution Separation, but it's made in a chem/cryo-plant, so... (also isn't a basic recipe for ice (it has none), and doesn't have a solid ingredient).

EDIT : Ah, found another : molten iron from lava ! (calcite + lava => stone + molten iron)
(made simple as part of 'metallurgy' recipes (also not a basic recipe for stone))

EDIT2 : I don't think I need to add to my rules that «empty barrel recipes» are considered «alternative» to the basic barrel recipe, seems obvious enough ?

BTW, you say, «can be recycled» to mean «has a complex recycling recipe», but there also seem to be cases where items cannot be recycled at all : obviously fluids, but then also it's seems that mods can also screw it up (or deliberately design it like this ?) and end up with no recycling recipes at all even for solid items :
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=122635

(Ill also just throw this in here : Documentation Improvement Requests : Add auto_recycle to RecipePrototype.)

[IsaacOscar]

BTW, you say, «can be recycled» to mean «has a complex recycling recipe», but there also seem to be cases where items cannot be recycled at all : obviously fluids, but then also it's seems that mods can also screw it up (or deliberately design it like this ?) and end up with no recycling recipes at all even for solid items :
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=122635

that looks like the devs didn't intend that behaviour, but don't care about fixing it as its the mods fault (i.e. there shouldn't be any items in vanilla thar can't be inserted into a recycling machine)

[BlueTemplar]

In case there was a misunderstanding, that bit was about the modder : I meant a modder could design it like this (even if this one did not).

[IsaacOscar]

In case there was a misunderstanding, that bit was about the modder : I meant a modder could design it like this (even if this one did not).

Yes you are right, modders can also change all the recycling recipes if they want, e.g. to allow recycling fluids.

[BlueTemplar]

Yeah, they could also have more than the 2 (+1 or 2) kinds of recycling recipes we have now, heck, they could go wild and make every single recycling recipe work differently ! (I'm sensing very evil recipe randomization mods in the future... )

----

Oh, I think I get it now : I got confused between 'empty barrel' as an item (which is actually just 'barrel') and 'empty barrel' as a category of recipe. I guess this was added to make sure the game doesn't get confused and gives you back filled barrels when you try to recycle an empty one ?
(Which makes me think : where exactly is the basic vs advanced recipe distinction is being made in the code ?)