by Sustainable Choice Group 30/12/2020
Thought Starters
It’s music to our ears – aluminium drinking cans are 100% recyclable. And even better news: about 70% of aluminium cans do actually get recycled every year worldwide. This is a powerful indication that recycling systems can work well.
It’s time to sing the praises of the humble soft-drink can. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable – it retains its properties indefinitely every time it’s recycled. So it can just keep on giving. In fact almost 75% of the aluminium produced on Earth is still in use today.
The recycling process is short and simple. It takes less than 6 weeks for the aluminium to be recycled and sent back into use again.
What happens? It’s simply crushed and shredded, then it’s melted down with a small portion of new aluminium before being made into new products. Recycled aluminium may be used in aircraft, cars, bicycles, boats, computers, cookware gutters, wire, and of course… more cans!
And these new cans are easily recycled over and over again. That’s why it’s considered a ‘closed loop’ recycling process.
Aluminium is the perfect example of a healthy recycling system. By reusing recycled aluminium, we save significant energy by not having to extract and produce fresh aluminium.
So let’s hold our drink-can high and celebrate our recycling wins! You can enjoy your canned drinks, knowing that they’re probably made from recycled aluminium.
All we have to do is make sure cans continue on their infinite recycling journey and don’t end up in landfill. After all, that’s no place for a superhero.
The world of sustainability is always changing. The information we’ve provided is based on what was current when we published it. So, please make sure to check the latest standards and guidelines.
