About aluminium > Recycling

Recycling is essential to lasting development. It allows resources to be saved and the amount of waste to be reduced. Creating and promoting the retail market with recycled products and development of recycled materials are fundamental. Aluminum used is valuable - it is easily recycled and can be recycled without loss from quality. Aluminum makes a great and unique contribution to support recycling of products in the future for the good of society completely.

Aluminum in recycling

   Used aluminum cans are an important resource that is extremely valuable. For this reason, aluminum used is rarely lost. Aluminum industry has all the interest to promote recycling of aluminum as part of industrial strategy. Aluminum has unique recycling qualities: the quality of aluminum is not reduced by recycling -it can be recycled repeatedly.
   Recycling aluminum saves energy: the remelting of used aluminum saves up to 95% of its initial energy needed to produce the raw material.
   Aluminum recycling is economical: it uses less energy and recycling is self-supported due to the high value of aluminum used.
   Aluminum, as part of the solution.

Sorting and Recycling Methods

There are different collecting methods:
   collecting in special collection centres, that are efficient in terms of cost but with a low predictability regarding the quantity
   buy-back where you pay with cash the obsolete or broken items and are required state subsidies
   collection from the roadside which can be mixed, of recyclable materials or storage on separate categories

The benefits of recycling

Besides the benefits that recycling has on the environment there are economic benefits:
   Well developed recycling programs are cheaper than the collection, storage and incineration of waste. As more recycling, as lower are the costs.
   Recycling helps to lower costs in areas where run waste collection programs paid according to their type and quantity.
   Recycling creates jobs.
   Recycling reduces companies’ costs, recycling efforts being covered by savings.

The benefits of recycling on the environment:
   Recycling reduces the amount of waste to be deposited in landfills or incinerated
   Recycling reduces the number of pollutants in the air and water
   Recycling significantly reduces the amount of CO2 emissions obtained by extracting and processing ores
   It uses 95% less energy to recycle aluminum from the one needed to produce raw materials (60% for steel, 40% for paper, 70% plastic and 40% for glass)
   According to a study in the USA, a recycling rate of 30% would be equivalent to removing 25 million cars on the streets
   Recycling helps conserve natural resources such as wood, water and minerals
   Recycling prevents the destruction of natural habitats of animals, of biodiversity and prevent soil erosion

Source: Recycling Revolution

The general steps in the recycling of used aluminum to the beverage cans

STEP 1 - COLLECTION OF CANS

   at supermarkets, in special containers for aluminum recycling
   at storage place of waste
   at the collection centres of aluminum waste where you get the money immediately after weighing

Once collected, the cans are transported to the collection centres where are separated from the scrap metal, glass, plastic, paper, etc... After weighing they go to recycling factories for used aluminum cans

STEP 2 - RECYCLING

Recycling itself has four stages
   Destruction (or grinding) in very small pieces at the size of a coin
   Removing design (images, documents) that is made with hot air up to 500 ° Celsius
   Melting in an oven at 750 ° C
   Casting ingot shape
   Each ingot weighs 27 tons, measures 15 meters in length and it can produce from it 1.5 million cans

STEP 3 – ROLLING

Ingots are subjected to a temperature of 600 ° C and then they are cooled and thinned until they reach the thickness of a aluminum can.

STEP 4 -CAN PRODUCTION

Aluminum sheet is inserted in the press and pour in shape of cans. Then it is treated with a special varnish to not interact with the printing and it dries in a special oven.

STEP 5 - CAN FILLING

Cans are cleaned with air pressure and water. The air is extracted at the same time and cans are filled with carbon dioxide (CO 2). Then the content is added. Every minute can be filled about 200 cans.

STEP 6 - SALE

The final step is the delivery to stores or restaurants.