recycling aluminium cans

you may be wondering: in these hard times, why aren't more people rummaging the bins for aluminium cans. the reason is simple. the price of scrap metal has plummetted to such a level that it is not worth the effort to collect these cans. aluminium used to fetch s$2.00 a kilo. today, it is about $0.70/kg.

anything made of aluminium can be recycled repeatedly: not only cans, but aluminium foil, plates and pie molds, window frames, garden furniture and automotive components are melted down and used to make the same products again.

used aluminium cans can be recycled to make new aluminium cans, aluminium windows can be recycled to make new aluminium windows and old aluminium engine blocks to make new ones. the recycling rate for aluminium cans is already above 90% in countries like brazil and japan.
the aluminium industry has set up various schemes to encourage recycling in many countries.

aluminium beverage cans can be recycled by individuals and groups and most countries have a national can recycling association which offers advice, support, and can put collectors in touch with purchasing organisations.

process scrap at all stages is meticulously collected and sorted by alloy by all aluminium companies and most customer organisations. unlike other metals, scrap aluminium has significant value and commands good market prices.

in the case of beverage cans, the process uses gas collected from burning off the volatile substances in can coatings to provide heat for the process. every last bit of energy is used.

used beverage cans are normally back on supermarket shelves as new beverage cans in 6-8 weeks in those countries which have dedicated can collecting and recycling schemes.

the recycling of aluminium beverage cans eliminates waste. it saves energy, conserves natural resources, reduces use of city landfills and provides added revenue for recyclers, charities and local town government. the aluminium can is therefore good news for the environment and good for the economy.

the aluminium can is 100% recyclable; there are no labels or covers to be removed. today's aluminium can requires about 40% less metal than the can made 25 years ago; hence the need for less energy and less raw material per can.

cans made from aluminium used to be worth 6 to 20 times more than any other used packaging material. aluminium is the only packaging material that more than covers the cost of its own collection and processing at recycling centres.