Facts about Aluminum Recycling

by 04/02/07 20 Comments

Presented by The Aluminum Association
Interesting facts about aluminum and aluminum can recycling.

  • Discovered in the 1820s, aluminum is the most abundant metal on earth.
  • Over 50 percent of the aluminum cans produced are recycled.
  • 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!
  • Aluminum is a durable and sustainable metal: two-thirds of the aluminum ever produced is in use today.
  • Every minute of everyday, an average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled.
  • Making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy and 20 recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore.
  • Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours.
  • Last year 54 billion cans were recycled saving energy equivalent to 15 million barrels of crude oil – America’s entire gas consumption for one day.
  • Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can’s volume of gasoline.
  • In 1972, 24,000 metric tons of aluminum used beverage containers (UBCs) were recycled. In 1998, the amount increased to over 879,000 metric tons.
  • In 1972, it took about 22 empty, aluminum cans to weigh one pound. Due to advanced technology to use less material and increase durability of aluminum cans, in 2002 it takes about 34 empty aluminum cans to weigh one pound.
  • The average employee consumes 2.5 beverages a day while at work.
  • The empty aluminum can is worth about 1 cent.
Larry Cummings

Larry Cummings

Larry Cummings is a staff member of Earth911.com.


  1. Nando Boston

    posted on September 6th, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    we do it!

  2. Dayton Harmon

    posted on October 27th, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    Auminum is not the most abundant metal that would be iron.

  3. Ben Gillespie

    posted on November 28th, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    Aluminum is the most abundant metal and the third most abundant element after Oxygen and Silicon

  4. Dayton Harmon

    posted on November 28th, 2011 at 11:50 pm

    I would have thought being most of the earths core. That iron would be the most abundant
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments. The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.

16 Archived Comments

  1. mike

    posted on December 28th, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    is it true that if you save a gallon of aluminum taps and than take it to a recycling center you get $100. Cause i have been wondering. I live in Chicago so it might be less.

  2. georgia

    posted on January 19th, 2009 at 8:30 am

    I was recently told that crushed aluminum cans cannot be recycled. same with milk cartons, etc. is that true??

  3. CJ

    posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 7:26 pm

    Hi there, As far as the tabs you would just get the metal content in them so probably only a few dollars at most but I know some charities take them and get a cent or two from sponsors when people donate the tabs to them. Wouldn’t be surprised if it took thousands to make a gallon.

    For crushed cans I know most recycling places prefer them crushed as people sometimes try and weight the cans down with water etc to get more $$ for their metals. I would imagine the high temperatures also don’t really care whether the cans or plastics are crushed as they are set up to pretty much take small pieces or larger thicker pieces like old siding, gutters and the like.

    As long as you continue to recycle according to your local rules all should be well.

    Hope this info helped, CJ

  4. Katie

    posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 pm

    I read an article – go to snopes.com that says taking the tabs off cans actually makes them less likely to be able to be used. If you want to get money for aluminum, bring the entire can. Above it says about 1 cent for a can, but I don’t know if that is true.

  5. Some Interesting Facts about ALUMINUM « Big Green Planet

    posted on April 9th, 2009 at 6:52 am

    [...] can than to make more cans out of recycled cans?  Learn more facts about Aluminum recycling on Earth 911 Facts about Aluminum Recycling.  You can read about the BENEFITS of recycling aluminum on Earth 911 as [...]

  6. Christal

    posted on April 18th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    I’ll remember that the next time I throw out a pop can, I am throwing a penny out the window.

  7. Jan

    posted on October 2nd, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    Recycling centers in zip code 90045 pay 5 cents per aluminum can.

  8. jan

    posted on October 2nd, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    Anybody know where to recycle old aluminum window screens? Zip: 90045, Los Angeles, CA

  9. Jan

    posted on October 2nd, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    aluminum cans, crushed or not, are recycleable. Automated machines collect the uncrushed cans and issue a receipt.. Crushed cans are manually counted, and you are handed a receipt.

  10. Jeanne Gardiner

    posted on November 14th, 2009 at 11:35 am

    Where can we bring our aluminum cans to be recycled and how much money would we receive for them?
    We are in RI.

  11. Richard

    posted on December 2nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    Does anyone know? Can I recycle the aluminum turkey roaster pan? Hate to just throw away?

  12. Will Recycle For Wedding: Couple Recycles Cans To Pay For Wedding « Seriously McMillan’s “She So Ghetto”

    posted on January 10th, 2010 at 9:15 am

    [...] a big part in our lives, and we hatched the crazy plan. Pay for the wedding – with recycling. Aluminum recycling is one of the most sustainable and useful forms of recycling. We’re shooting for 400,000 aluminum [...]

  13. Help this couple get married « Scott McGregor – Kool Afternoons

    posted on January 11th, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    [...] a big part in our lives, and we hatched the crazy plan. Pay for the wedding – with recycling. Aluminum recycling is one of the most sustainable and useful forms of recycling. We’re shooting for 400,000 aluminum [...]

  14. 4chambers

    posted on March 12th, 2011 at 11:23 pm

    so, stars need tinsel town to be stars. Why should I plug my screen into a can?

  15. Skip

    posted on March 21st, 2011 at 10:53 am

    is it true that if you save a gallon of aluminum taps and than take it to a recycling center you get $100. Cause i have been wondering. I live in Chicago so it might be less.

    This is a myth. The tab on a can and the can itself are made of the same aluminum. Unfortunately, every scrap yard has a story of a person who diligently saved aluminum tabs expecting a windfall but got very little :(

    Where can we bring our aluminum cans to be recycled and how much money would we receive for them? We are in RI.

    Check your local yellow pages and find a local scrap yard to sell your aluminum cans and scrap, in general scrap yards will buy your metals by the pound. Some states have bottle bills where you can return an empty can and get a refund (RI is not one of them, sorry!) http://www.bottlebill.org/

    The price of AL depends on the market for the metal, some people get $0.35-$1.00 cents a pound. You will need to save a lot of cans to make serious money!

    Does anyone know? Can I recycle the aluminum turkey roaster pan? Hate to just throw away?

    A CLEAN aluminum roaster pan is recyclable, however, scrap yards and municipal programs will not take dirty roaster pans that have food scraps on them. It attracts bugs and smells. You could clean the roaster pan, but you would be wasting more resources water to clean the roaster pan! Unfortunately, you are better off throwing it away.

    As for cans, scrap yards prefer them to be crushed. Besides you can put more crushed cans in a bag and get more money!

  16. GRACE

    posted on May 4th, 2011 at 2:16 am

    My daughters wedding is coming up in August 2012 and I would like to help them for the cost. I therefore want to know where in UK I can get paid for recycling cans and at what price.

Recently Added to Metal

  • The Cold, Hard Truth About Recycling Steel

    We’ve come across quite a few creative uses of unconventional materials lately, from shipping containers made of mushrooms to bow ties made of soda cans, computer parts and pills. But when it comes to producing automobiles, large buildings and machinery, …

  • VIDEO: Amazing Recycled Bicycle Machines

    Bicycle recycling is nothing new. But a Guatemalan nonprofit is turning trashed bicycle parts into innovative, electricity-free machines that you have to see to believe.

    Based in San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala, Maya Pedal Asociación accepts donated bikes from the U.S. and …

  • VIDEO: Drummers Make Music Out of Scrap

    If you like theatrical musical performers like Blue Man Group or Stomp, then you’ll love ScrapArtsMusic, a Vancouver-based quintet that fashions its percussive instruments from industrial materials that would have otherwise been discarded, ranging from accordion parts to artillery shells.

    The …

Advertise with us

Earth911

Earth911 helps consumers find local recycling information through the largest and most accurate recycling directory in the U.S. Read today's top green lifestyle tips and ideas. Learn how we help businesses.

News & Lifestyle

Recycling 101

Business Solutions