It wasnt that it didnt need recharging, it couldn't be recharged because it was a primary cell. The discharge pricess involves the plate oxidizing into aluminum hydroxide. To recycle it you have to heat it to 1000 c to turn it into alumina (bauxite) and then remanufacture with the normal (already expensive) aluminum manufacturing process.
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-cheap-to-recycle-aluminium-hydroxide-to-make-aluminum-How-is-the-process