What is aluminum recycling?

Answer 1

Introduction

Aluminium recycling is a fantastic idea because recycling is 20 times cheaper and causes 20 times less pollution than producing new aluminium from the ground. Also, there is no rubbish! Aluminium is the most cost-effective

material to recycle, because of the huge energy savings - up to 95%. In addition to this, all the scraps left over from the aluminium production process can be melted down and used again and again. For this reason, recycling is part of the normal lifecycle

for large industrial products - around 75 per cent of all the aluminium ever made is still in circulation.

Aluminium recycling process

The life cycle of an aluminium can, can take just 60 days from "can to can." In this short time, a can goes from the grocery store shelf to the consumer, and then on to a recycling facility where it can be remelted into can sheet and reformed into another aluminium can with exactly the same physical characteristics as the original can. The process involves simply re-melting

the metal, which is far less expensive and energy intensive than creating new aluminium which must first be mined from bauxite ore and then refined using the Bayer process. Recycling scrap aluminium requires only 5% of the energy used to make new aluminium.

Impacts

Recycling impacts human life because Recycling cans have never been easier, and doing so can affect life in many positive ways. Recycling makes us think about the choices we make. Recyclers are more likely to think about the outcome of their actions. They are more likely to consider the environment when making purchases. Recycling saves our natural resources and the energy required to manufacture products out of them. It's cheaper to make an aluminum can out of an old aluminum can than it is to mine the Bauxite ore, smelt it, purify it and make a new aluminum can. GreenYour,

a guide to green living, reports that recycling soda bottles and cans reduces the amount of materials necessary to create new soda bottles and cans and uses less energy as well. In addition to being good for the planet, recycling plastic and cans can also be inspiration for individual recyclers as well. Money earned from recycling can impact the lives of people living in communities by enhancing programs such as Habitat for Humanity.

Advantages

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Recycling can help save the environment. If everyone recycled we could pay back the world for all the damage we have caused.

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Recycling cans can benefit life within communities by putting money directly into community programs. Earth 911 encourages communities to recycle so that money can be raised to fund local projects.

Disadvantages

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The biggest problem is when incorrect items are put in the recycling container as they have to be removed by hand. This slows down the process and if these items are missed it can clog or damage the machinery and other equipment. This is why it is important to know which items you can and can't recycle in your local area.

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Both aluminium and steel are easy to recycle and there are huge environmental benefits for doing this - yet many cans still go to landfill. If we recycle more cans we can reduce the amount of raw materials needed to produce new products.

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Did you know?

In the UK our steel cans only contain 25% recycled steel, while the

cans manufactured in Europe contain 54%.