Recycling Aluminum

In North America, one of the most frequent products to be recycled is aluminum. It's main uses are in making cans, foil, and trays, among other things. Americans are known to recycle about 65-70% of the aluminum they use annually. This still leaves hundreds of thousand of tons just tossed out.

When thinking of recycling aluminium, the image that comes to mind is of cans. But the fact is that any household item made of aluminium, like lawn furniture can be recycled. The local recycling depot can clarify any doubt whether an aluminium item is recyclable or not.

It is interesting to know the process that the aluminium has to go through before it can be reused. There is a large processing plant that deals with scrap. The various recycling plant send their collection to this plant.

Once at the processing plant the aluminum must be sorted and then condensed into slabs. You may be wondering what happens to the labels on pop cans or other types of coating. This is all dealt with at the aluminum company, which is where the slabs are sent to next.

The aluminium product that we have has approximately 50% of recycled products. At the aluminium company these blocks are cut into shreds and thereafter crushed. It is here that the labels and coatings etc are removed. The crushed shreds are now melted with new aluminium.

Aluminum can be formed into any shape once it's been melted. The process differs according to product, but in general it sounds pretty easy, doesn't it?

Aluminium is readily available on earth and there is no possibility of exhausting this resource in the near future. Hence, it is important to know as to why should we recycle aluminium. New aluminium requires much more energy to produce than recycling aluminium. The other key factor is the waste, which will be created in case not recycled.

A large amount of waste is being produced in North America. They are being put in landfill sites. Landfill sites are difficult to find and it is getting increasingly difficult to dispose our waste. Apart from this the waste is harmful to the flora and fauna in the area of the landfill.

One way that companies can encourage consumers to recycle aluminum is deposits. Most aluminum cans require you to pay a deposit. In order to get that deposit back you must return the can. The can is then transported to the recycling depot and then to the processing plant.

Recycling benefits everyone. It not only cuts down on our waste and saves energy, but it also creates jobs and is good for communities. While most people do their part to recycle and help the environment, many don't, and are still throwing away their aluminum cans and other recyclable products.

If there is no recycling program in your area why not get an environmental group started and make that your first project? You will probably find that many people want to get involved, including local area businesses.

Article Source: http://articlem.com

Harry Browar is the owner and operator of First Alluminum, the #1 source on the internet for information about alluminum, For more articles on alluminum visit: www.firstaluminum.com/articles
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