Benefits of Aluminum Can Recycling
Aluminum can recycling provides many environmental, economic and community benefits to individuals, communities, organizations, companies and industries.
Environmental Benefits
- Recycling aluminum cans saves precious natural resources, energy, time and money – all for a good cause – helping out the earth, as well as the economy and local communities.
- Aluminum cans are unique in that in 60 days a can is recycled, turned into a new can & back on store shelves.
- Aluminum is a sustainable metal and can be recycled over and over again.
- In 2003, 54 billion cans were recycled, saving the energy equivalent of 15 million barrels of crude oil – America’s entire gas consumption for one day.
Economic Benefits
- The aluminum can is the most valuable container to recycle and is the most recycled consumer product in the U.S. today.
- Each year, the aluminum industry pays out over $800 million dollars for empty aluminum cans – that’s a lot of money that can go to organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, the Boy or Girl Scouts of America, or even a local school. Money earned from recycling cans helps people help themselves and their communities. Recycling helps build new homes, pays for a group trip, supports a project or buys a lunch!
- Today it is cheaper, faster and more energy-efficient to recycle aluminum than ever before. The aluminum can is 100 percent recyclable and can be recycled indefinitely. The can remains the most recyclable of all materials.
- Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item 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.
- Aluminum has a high market value and continues to provide an economic incentive to recycle. When aluminum cans are recycled curbside, they help pay for community services.
Community Benefits
- Aluminum can recycling enables charitable organizations and groups to earn funds to further local projects. The money earned enhances programs, communities and improves the quality of people’s lives. From a local can drive to raise money for school improvements, to a Boy or Girl Scout troop “Cans Into Cash” competition to pay for camp, recycling is used all over the country to help others.
- A perfect example of this is the Cans for Habitat program. Through a national partnership between the Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity International, aluminum cans are recycled via a network of drop-off locations to raise money for Habitat for Humanity to build decent, affordable housing with low-income families. To think, just by recycling a can once destined for the landfill, you are keeping our local environment clean, providing a needed resource for the aluminum recycling process, and most importantly, helping provide local housing to those in need. It’s a win-win for the individual, community, business, industry and the environment.
Chelsea
posted on November 6th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I’m currently writing a research paper for my english class, involving the benefits of soda bottle recycling and how it affects the economy and recycling in it’s self. I was just inquiring if you could give me any information that I could use for my paper, perhaps something beneficial towards not just the economy but, to individual states themselves?
Honestly, I’m not quite even sure what this is, and I don’t even know if you can be of any assistance, but if you have any imformation that could be useful, please contact me.
Thank you,
Chelsea
Raquel Fagan
posted on November 6th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Hello Chelsea,
Glad to hear that you are discussing recycling for a school project. We have three sections of the site that would be helpful for your research. Check out ourAluminum Can product page, our Plastic Bottles product page, and our General Recycling information page. I think these sections would be a great start. Good luck and happy hunting!
kasey
posted on January 7th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
this is a great website it helps me to understand wat recyling means
holaalee
posted on January 8th, 2009 at 7:19 am
hola. I wanted to know if you guys like to recycle lots of meterialse? i do. you should too. lots of economice discuss, you know?
holaalee
posted on January 9th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
will you guyse ever answerr me questions? I dide ask. I wanted to know how I should write this report, its about economic discuss, likeeh is it importante to discusse with youruhh clientese?
holaalee
posted on January 9th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I meant up there clientse not clientese ( I thinke in Englesio it is pronouncede kli-ents)
Jennifer Berry
posted on January 9th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Hi Holaalee,
Yes, we recycle a great number of materials, although not at our office but through other recycling services. I think it depends on the nature of the business you’re dealing with, if you want to discuss economics with your clients. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Thanks!
holaalee
posted on January 21st, 2009 at 1:36 pm
oh no. You were much help! Thanke you so muches, Jennifer. I am juste so happy you answered me questions. I did so good on my papel that I am actualle a cliente now! I do have one more question. If I am a cliente, is it all up to me to do worke? Just asking.
casey
posted on January 29th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Hey, I was just wondering where do the recycled cans end up? Is there a major business that crushes and recycles the cans or many of them? And what are the names of these business and where are they located?
DM
posted on January 31st, 2009 at 10:26 am
How does the CAN recycle works? Is there any machine that take the old can and create new CAN OR CAN are first recycle to the sheet and then CAN are made?
If we want to start the recycle CAN business how much investment it need appx?
Thanks
holaalee
posted on February 13th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
deare yous peeeepels,
zu havent ansrd me question! is it all up to me to do worke? look up! Pleeeeeeze Jennifer. pleeeeeeez.
Jennifer Berry
posted on February 13th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Hi Holaalee,
I’m really not sure, since, again, I don’t know the nature of your business. Sorry!
University City Winner in Recycling Contest | Arch City Homes
posted on February 13th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
[...] participating cities collected over 115 million used beverage cans. Aluminum cans are the most valuable recycled material today helping to pay for total recycling efforts.The [...]
Sydney
posted on March 2nd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Wow! Thank you so much! This website really helped me. I had to do a project on “what being green means to me”. Again, thank you so much!
Some Interesting Facts about ALUMINUM « Big Green Planet
posted on April 9th, 2009 at 6:53 am
[...] about Aluminum recycling on Earth 911 Facts about Aluminum Recycling. You can read about the BENEFITS of recycling aluminum on Earth 911 as [...]
Polly
posted on May 12th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Interesting website, I like it!
I have experience working in recycle centers in canada and think that beverage container deposits or rewards provide an added incentive to consumers and collectors to recycle rather than litter and if one does litter others have an incentive to pick up the litter in return for a refund.
What would be nice to see is similar incentive programs for items like plastic wrappers and bags, plastic tv dinner trays or even cat food cans ( Friskies and certain other brands are aluminum) maybe this is already being done in some areas, where I am from Friskies cans are only a second grade aluminum worth much less because of the white lining in the can.
Does anybody know why cat food companies even line the inside of cat food cans but beverage cans are unlined?
Anyway I like the site……
angel
posted on June 8th, 2009 at 6:42 am
hi my name is angel and i have a cuestion about where a can go for sell some cans recycled , if some body knows please contat to me , a live in baltimore .
David Smith
posted on September 28th, 2009 at 1:38 am
I am on bags5,6(30+gal trash bags, smashed down) of alumin cans. Everybody knows prices are up during Earth Week(last year prices were .35/lb). last year I had 480lbs. of cans. Many I pick up while jogging, biking, walking. I live in Ohio & the trash on & by the streets and parks is incredible. I wish there was a deposit on ALL drink container(especially plastic), but apparently the powers that be can’t see fit to do that. This speaks loudly of the American/Ohio people who just throw their trash on the ground for someone else to get because they can’t be bothered! Myself & many otherrs must live with this filth because it is inconvenient for others!!
Amy
posted on September 29th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Try using http://www.411.com to find a recycling centers, it will ask you for your City ,State and Zip. It works did it myself. Hope this helps all of you.
Benefits of Aluminum Can Recycling | Collect. Connect. Recycle.
posted on September 30th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
[...] Original Article: Earth911 Article [...]
Thomas
posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 7:20 am
Hi everyone
I am working on finding out the negitives on recycling as we have to have a balenced argument are there any arguments againsed recycling aluminium