January 7th, 2010 @ kadraoui // No Comments
A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. That’s closed loop recycling at its finest!
Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled items in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours — or the equivalent of half a gallon of gasoline.
More aluminum goes into beverage cans than any other product.
Because so many of them are recycled, aluminum cans account for less than 1% of the total U.S. waste stream, according to EPA estimates.
An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now!
There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can can be recycled.
We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans every year.
At one time, aluminum was more valuable than gold!
A 60-watt light bulb can be run for over a day on the amount of energy saved by recycling 1 pound of steel. In one year in the United States, the recycling of steel saves enough energy to heat and light 18,000,000 homes!
Recycling aluminum uses only around five 5% of the energy and emissions needed to make it from the raw material bauxite, and as the metal can be recycled time and time again without loss of properties, getting the aluminum recycling habit is one of the best things we can do for the environment.
Aluminum drink cans are collected by almost all local authorities, and increasingly aluminum foil – such as clean ready meal trays, dairy lidding, chocolate foil and wrapping and cooking foil – is also collected.
The complete recycling process is to:
Aluminum foil is a different alloy, and is usually recycled with other aluminum scraps to make cast items such as engine components, where it makes a big contribution to making vehicles lighter and more energy efficient.
