You’re sipping the last drops of soda from a can of soda on a hot day. But what do you do with the empty can? Why are these cans made from aluminium in the first place? Because it is a highly sustainable metal that is economical and, just as importantly, inexpensive to recycle and reuse!
Got Can? Recycle It!
Recycling aluminium is an easy way for us to help society, as we’ll see with Sadek and his older brother. After finishing up with soccer practice for the day and packing to go home, Sadek’s older brother began picking up empty cans around the bench and rest areas and putting them in a plastic bag he had brought from home. Though he did not understand why his brother was doing this, Sadek began helping collect the cans from the other side of the field. He couldn’t let his brother do all the work now, could he?
After collecting all the cans they could find, they took the bag of cans to a special bin marked with a recycling sign and dumped it. Then his brother explained that they were doing their part to help the cans get recycled, how it helps protect the environment, and how aluminium is recycled.
So, How is Aluminium Recycled?
Aluminium recycling is highly cost-effective, so everyone should chip in to do their part. Starting with the collection and sorting by people like us and professional cleaners, the aluminium is compressed into cubes by special compressors for easy transport. The cubes are then melted and remade into new products, including soda cans! It usually takes about 60 days to complete the entire process – just in time to rejoin the supply chain to keep the aluminium industry fed with raw materials.
Why Recycle Aluminium?
In addition to preserving limited resources, the biggest reason to recycle aluminium is that it’s simply cost-effective. Extracting aluminium from raw bauxite, the unprocessed mined resource containing aluminium, is extremely complex, energy-intensive, and inefficient. It takes about 4 to 5 tonnes of bauxite to make 1 tonne of aluminium.
In contrast, recycling aluminium takes only 5% of the energy required to produce new aluminium. That’s 20 times more efficient! And every 1 tonne of aluminium recycled produces about 9 tonnes less carbon dioxide (or a 97% reduction in greenhouse emissions) and saves about 14,000 kilowatts of energy and 14,000 litres of water! In the US, recycling aluminium saves about 90 million oil barrels worth of energy every year. Wow!
What’s more, aluminium is 100% recyclable and can be recycled over and over without any loss in quality or safety.
Aluminium – The Metal for Sustainability
With the circular economy becoming essential for sustaining the lifestyle we have all come to love, aluminium’s infinitely reusability, economy and safety is the answer to this dilemma. Just remember to collect, sort and place those aluminium cans, tins and packaging into the recycling bin whenever possible – a little help does go a long way.
