Aluminum

Aluminum is the most popular non-ferreous metal in the world. Sectors as diverse as food, transportation, medicine, energy or construction use it in a generalized way. It is estimated that around 25 million tons per year are consumed worldwide. The correct collection and recycling of your waste can save large amounts of mineral and energy.

Aluminum can be recycled indefinitely without loss of its properties, thus preventing from ending up abandoned or in dumps. Consumers are an essential part of this process. Recycling these containers is easy, and the environment and the economy benefit from it. What is the use of recycling aluminum?

Each Spanish consumes an average of 90 cans per year and generates about 13 kg of waste from this type of residues that, if they reach nature, can remain in solid state for 500 years.

The environmental and economic impact of using primary aluminum, can be greatly reduced by recycling.

The role of consumers is essential: if the recovered waste is contaminated with other materials, the selection and preparation process for recycling is difficult. To prevent it from being abandoned or deposited incorrectly, the cans can be deposited in a yellow container, so that they can be treated correctly.

The recycling of aluminum is very grateful. 100% of the material is used and, thanks to this, 95% of the energy is saved, if you compare it to its production from step one, with the mineral (bauxite) used for this. Production with recycled aluminum generates only 15% of greenhouse effect gas emissions, causing climate change.

The process of recycling cans is simpler than with other types of waste: there is no need to remove other materials, as both the lid and the container are made of aluminum. In addition, empty cans can be crushed without problems. In this way, they occupy very little volume and are easy to transport (it does not break, it does not burn and it does not rust).

The recycled aluminum does not diminish its quality: the product obtained, has the same properties than the one elaborated from the original mineral. Unlike paper, which can only be recycled a few times, waste from this material can be used indefinitely. The recovered aluminum, once selected and pressed, is melted and, with it, new ingots of aluminum are manufactured and can be used .

From the economic point of view, recycling is a cost-effective process because aluminum is a valuable metal: the used beverage cans collected, reach a market value of more than 0.6 euros per kg.