Aluminum Recycling Facts

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Aluminum Facts

About 65 % of America's aluminum is currently recycled.
Every minute an average of 123,097 aluminum cans are recycled.
On average, Americans recycle 2 out of every 3 aluminum cans they use.
The average aluminum can contains more than 50% post-consumer recycled aluminum.
In 1997 the aluminum industry paid approximately $1.03 billion to recyclers.
An aluminum can recycled today will be back on the grocery shelf in about 90 days!
Twenty years ago, it took 19 aluminum cans to make one pound, but today's aluminum cans are lighter and it now takes 29 cans to make a pound! That means less aluminum is wasted, saving energy and other environmental resources!
Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can's volume of gasoline.
Making aluminum cans from recycled aluminum takes 95% less energy than making cans from virgin ore.
20 recycled aluminum cans can be manufactured with the energy needed to produce one can from virgin ore.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours.
Making beverage cans from recycled aluminum cuts air pollution by about 95%.
More than one million tons of aluminum containers and packaging (soda cans, TV dinner trays, aluminum foil) are thrown away each year.
Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.
Last year, approximately 36 billion aluminum cans were landfilled. The cans that were thrown away had an estimated scrap value of more than $600 million.
It is estimated that over the past twenty years, we've trashed more than 11 million tons of aluminum beverage cans worth over $12 billion on today's market.
Aluminum products other than cans can be recycled. Other recyclable aluminum products include: siding, gutters, storm window frames, lawn furniture, foil, and aluminum packaging.