HOW ARE ALUMINIUM CANS RECYCLED?

• The aluminium cans thrown into recycle-bins by the consumer are collected
and transported to the treatment plant.
• In the treatment plant, aluminium is sorted, cleaned and made ready for
reprocessing.
• They are then turned into molten aluminium through a re-melt process. This is
done to remove the unwanted coatings and paintings present in the can.
• After that, the large blocks of aluminium, called the ingots are made. It is
estimated that it takes 1.6 million aluminium cans to make an ingot.
• To give aluminium great strength and flexibility, these ingots are taken to the
mills and are rolled into sheets.
• These rolled sheets are then used to make aluminium products such as cans,
wrappers etc.
• The interesting fact is that it takes mere 6 weeks to complete all these processes
and the aluminium cans will be back in the shelves.

FACTS:
• Recycling one kilogram of aluminium can save up to 8 kilograms of bauxite, four
kilograms of chemical products and 14 kilowatt hours of electricity.
• Anything made of aluminium can be recycled repeatedly: not only cans, but
aluminium foil, plates and pie molds, window frames, garden furniture and
automotive components are melted down and used to make the same products
again.Used aluminium cans can be recycled to make new aluminium cans,
aluminium windows can be recycled to make new aluminium windows and old
aluminium engine blocks to make new ones. The recycling rate for aluminium
cans is already above 70% in some countries.
• Aluminium beverage cans can be profitably recycled by individuals and groups
and most countries have a national can recycling association which offers advice,
support, and can put collectors in touch with purchasing organizations.
• Aluminium is the only packaging material that more than covers the cost of its
own collection and processing at recycling centers.

Aluminium will never loose its properties no matter the number of times it has been recycled. This means that aluminium can be recycled forever.
Have a look at TrashinME for more information about recycling.