As the world becomes increasingly concerned about the impact of human activity on the environment, people are finding ways to counter the effects by finding reliable ways of disposing of waste. One of these methods is recycling the most commonly used items like aluminum cans. Aluminum is commonly used in packaging and comprises 99% of all beer cans and 97% of soft drink cans. If all these cans aren’t recycled, they could contribute to over 3.4 million tons of aluminum waste.
Is Recycling Aluminum Cans Good for the Environment?
Recycling aluminum cans saves energy and minimizes the mining of bauxite ore used in aluminum production. An aluminum can will still be an aluminum can 500 years from now. That means recycling companies can recycle the cans forever without losing their quality. Any aluminum can recycled today will be back on the commercial shelves within 90 days. Recycling aluminum prevents the further release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Recycling one can prevent enough carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to a one-mile car ride.
What Is the Purpose of Recycling Cans?
Recycling aluminum cans has many benefits. Since it takes time, energy, and resources to produce entirely new cans, recycling helps prevent using that energy and saves the environment. Here are the benefits of recycling aluminum cans.
Aluminum Recycling Saves Energy
Did you know that recycling one aluminum can produces enough energy to watch TV for three hours? Every passing minute, there are over 123,097 cans recycled. That’s enough energy to produce power for 369,291 hours. Used beverage containers make the most significant component of aluminum scrap. According to the president of the Aluminum Association, Steve Larkin, recycling old cans into new ones uses 95% less energy and produces 95% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than producing new cans from scratch. That means every recycled can saves the world a lot of energy every year.
Helps Slow Down Resource Depletion
Aluminum consists of about 8% of the earth’s resources. While this is abundant, its supply is quite limited. It can’t be created synthetically, and once the natural sources are depleted, the supply will be limited to the materials available through recycling.
It’s far easier to reuse it than mine, which is why recycling is the way to minimize depletion. As mentioned, aluminum can last up to 500 years, meaning it can be recycled repeatedly without degrading in quality. About 75% of aluminum ever produced is still in use today.
Minimizes Pollution
The increasing environmental awareness and growing social responsibility have driven the world to reduce the number of mines to prevent air and water pollution. Bauxite, or raw aluminum, is located on the earth’s top layer. Mining companies use dynamite and bulldozers to clear the land above the deposits. When they’re done, miners leave piles of mine tailings used to refill the pit. These tailings are loaded with hazardous waste that can harm the environment.
Have some aluminum cans you’d want to get off your hands? Alaska Car Crushing & Recycling LLC has the solution. We accept all types of metals as long as they meet our scrap requirements. Feel free to contact us for more information.