Aluminum Can Recycling: History, Impact & Energy Savings

Aluminum use has escalated since 1960 in the U.S., when municipal waste contained only 0.4 percent aluminum. In 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported 3.4 million tons of aluminum in municipal solid waste streams, with used beverage cans as the largest aluminum source. In 2008 about 48 percent of manufactured aluminum cans were recovered. The EPA estimates that a new aluminum can has about 40 percent recycled aluminum, which saves 92 percent of the energy needed to produce aluminum from bauxite ore. The savings are quite significant since the Container Recycling Institute estimates that more than one trillion aluminum cans have been thrown away between 1972 and 2003.

Things You'll Need

• Water
• Large plastic bags
• Can crusher (optional)
• Blue recycling container (optional)

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Instructions

• 1

  Save aluminum cans from items consumed in the household or collect aluminum cans as clean-up projects or neighborhood efforts.

• 2

  Rinse the cans with clear water to remove residues and allow them to dry. If the cans have paper labels, remove the labels.

• 3

  Crush the cans so they take up less volume.

• 4

  Transport them to a recycling center or a buy-back center, which will sell them to a material recovery facility.

• 5

  Put aluminum cans in a curbside recycling container for pickup as an alternative collection method, if it is available in your area, and the cans will be taken to a material recovery facility.