Why Recycle Aluminium?
No other material offers the versatility and environmental benefits of aluminium.
Aluminium like other metals is a permanent material whose inherent properties do not change during use and despite repeated recycling into new products. Because aluminium is infinitely recyclable, it can be reused in applications vastly different from its previous purpose, and it can also be recast into its original form. These properties make aluminium an ideal material for use in premium applications, even after being recycled many times. For example, a 50-year-old building facade can be recycled into the aluminium needed for the engine block of a new car with no degradation in quality. Its recycling does not necessarily require the addition of primary material or additives to enable the basic material function and properties. So you can say that aluminium is infinitely recyclable making it the material of choice for balancing the demand of a growing economy with the need to preserve the environment.
The future
Since the first industrial production of aluminium in the 1880s, 75% of all the material ever produced is still in use today. The aluminium beverage can is the world’s most recycled packaging container and the UK is one of the largest aluminium beverage can markets in Europe. Nearly ten billion aluminium beverage cans are sold in the UK every year, and each one could be recycled over and over again, saving energy, raw materials and waste. A used aluminium beverage can can be recycled, reprocessed, remade and ready for re-sale in around 60 days. In a whole year, that one can could be recycled eight times, saving enough energy to make 160 new cans. Across Europe, over 70% of all aluminium beverage cans are recycled, a number that we are continually working to increase.
