Aluminum
An average of 54 percent of each new aluminum can is made from recycled aluminum, saving companies and consumers money compared with the use of virgin aluminum. Using recycled aluminum also saves precious natural resources by reducing the amount of bauxite mined to make aluminum.
The aluminum beverage can returns to the grocer's shelf as a new, filled can in as few as 60 days after collection. That means that a consumer could purchase basically the same recycled can from a store every nine weeks, or almost six times a year.
Advances in can manufacturing technology have also brought us lighter aluminum cans. In 1972, one pound of aluminum yielded only 21.75 cans. Today, by using less material to make each can, one pound of aluminum makes approximately 32 cans — a 47 percent improvement. Even the can ends have been made lighter: The old ends weighed about 8.12 pounds per thousand; now they weigh a mere 6.07 pounds per thousand. It may not seem like much, but when you multiply the savings by the 100 billion cans that are made each year, the weight savings is phenomenal — over 200 million pounds of aluminum!
Information from Can Manufacturer's Institute web site http://www.cancentral.org and the Aluminum Association's web site at http://www.aluminum.org.
