Benefits of Aluminum Can Recycling
When you think about recycling your aluminium cans as part of your commercial waste management plan, you may be surprised to learn that it’s not as difficult as you think. It’s not as difficult as you think, but recycling aluminium cans is essential. Energy savings, Job Creation, and Environmental impact are just a few. But the most significant benefit of recycling aluminium cans is cost-effectiveness. Here’s how this process works.
Read on to find out more. Please click here for more information and pricing on commercial waste.
Aluminum Can Recycling: Costs
Despite a burgeoning recycling industry, consumers aren’t using recycled aluminium beverage cans enough. The recycling rate is still at 46.1%, down from 49.8% in 2018 to 45.1% in 2017. But over the next few years, the industry can regain the market share that imported cans have monopolised.
In addition to being uneconomical from a pound perspective, the imports are also bad for the environment. For example, empty cans must be transported worldwide, generating additional freight and CO2 emissions. Compared to other metals, the price of aluminium cans varies daily. Some recycling centres pay less than the market value, while others charge you more.
- While scrap yards aim to profit from their sale, selling aluminium at the same price as trading is impossible.
- The best way to determine how much to pay is to call around and compare prices.
- Others may offer a flat rate, which might be higher than the bulk rate of recycling centres. Some states have bottle bills that guarantee a minimum payout per can.
These laws allow consumers to compare offers from several recycling companies before deciding. Scrap yards are more likely to pay you than grocery stores, meaning they’ll earn you more than five to ten times as much as you’d get from a recycling company in another state. If you’re worried about the costs, recycling aluminium cans at home is probably worth considering. You’ll be happier you do. If you’re not in a state with a bottle bill, you can still recycle aluminium cans by taking your cans to a nearby bottle bill state.
Another option is to take them with you when you’re travelling – bringing the cans with you will pay for the entire gas expense! And you can even get paid by a scrap yard for the aluminium you bring them. So, recycling aluminium cans are environmentally friendly, but it’s also cheaper than making new aluminium.
Recycling codes |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
7 |
PETE |
HDPE |
V |
LDPE |
PP |
|
Polyethylene Terephthalate. |
High Density Polyethylene |
Polyvinyl Chloride |
Low-density Polyethylene |
Polypropylene |
All other plastics |
Aluminum Can Recycling: Energy Saving
Recycled aluminium cans have several advantages:
- The material is recyclable and can be reused for as long as possible.
- The cans can be recycled into another one indefinitely, unlike most food-grade plastics, which are downcycled countless times, losing quality each time.
- This means you can save energy by recycling your cans and saving money by not buying new ones.
- It can also save your business a lot of costs on commercial waste collection!
Aluminium Can Recycling: Job Creation
Recycling metal cans creates jobs. Metal cans have many advantages, but the biggest is that they are infinitely recyclable. Despite their convenience, metal cans should never go to landfills, where they are a source of greenhouse gases. In 1990, more aluminium was recycled than it is today. Today, however, there are fewer recycling programs than there were then. Aluminium cans make up the majority of recycled aluminium and are one of the most sustainable forms of metal.
They also save natural resources, energy, and time. They save energy but also create jobs and a cleaner environment. As an added benefit, aluminium can recycling also creates jobs. Every month, Americans discard enough aluminium cans to build up the country’s commercial air fleet. The construction industry is responsible for an outsized share of the nation’s waste stream. Building waste alone comprises 50 per cent of the total solid waste stream.
In addition to recycling, a company committed to environmental management systems can create jobs. A company like Tournaire aims to positively impact society by creating opportunities for those interested in the industry. Other methods of waste disposal create jobs, but recyclers are often overlooked. Unlike landfilling, recycling generates more jobs and raises national income than landfilling. Recycling produces twice the income from one ton of waste as landfilling does.
Moreover, recycling creates jobs in manufacturing industries. Further, the industry also saves energy, which saves the economy money. Recycled aluminium cans, such as beer cans, contribute to a green economy, containing no hazardous chemicals. As a result, recycling creates jobs in various low and high-skilled occupations. In the U.S. alone, the recycling of aluminium cans is estimated to create over 29,000 jobs. It also contributes to the planet’s health since fewer plastics end up in our waterways and oceans.
Aluminum Can Recycling: Environmental Impact
Hundreds of thousands of aluminium cans are dumped yearly in landfills and roadsides. This waste material can be recycled into new products and help protect our environment. However, this process is not without its environmental impact. Aluminium cans can be recycled more than seventy per cent, saving the environment from even more damage. Here are some of the most common ways to recycle your aluminium cans.
Compared to plastic and glass, aluminium cans are much more environmentally friendly. They use far less energy compared to their counterparts. They also emit less harmful greenhouse gases than their glass counterparts. Glass production requires more electricity and releases more sulfur dioxide, which is a leading cause of acid rain.
Additionally, glass production releases more phosphates, overloading coastal seas and rivers and depleting oxygen. Recycling aluminium cans reduces these emissions by up to eighty per cent, allowing consumers to feel good about their purchase. The aluminium industry is experimenting with various recycling methods as the recycling process progresses. It has been found that the process of aluminium recycling can produce a salt cake that needs to be correctly disposed of.
While this can be a nuisance, engineers are working to find ways to reduce salt cake production and find new uses for it. Worcester Polytechnic Institute is even working on using salt cake to strengthen the cement. One of the biggest reasons to recycle aluminium is to avoid the production of landfills. Mining aluminium for cans results in massive emissions of carbon and other pollutants. Recycling aluminium will reduce the need for mining and ultimately help reduce the need for these fossil fuels.
In addition, aluminium cans are completely recyclable and are one of the most valuable materials. Compared to plastic, it is often the culprit of more littering, inadequate disposal, and pollution – and it takes longer for the plastic to degrade in the environment.
Recycled aluminium requires 95% less energy than the production of new aluminium. Recycling aluminium also reduces carbon intensity by one per cent per thousand cans. In addition, increased aluminium recycling is essential to ensuring continued industry-wide decarbonisation. A new study found that recycling aluminium reduces greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1%, enough to eliminate most of the greenhouse gases associated with producing aluminium cans.
Aluminium Can Recycling – Learn more about UK business waste statistics here
Other useful links from our Commercial Waste Centre
Why Should Your Business Go Paperless?
Choosing a Garage Waste Management Service
Developing an EMS for Hazardous Waste
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