Making a can from recycled aluminum saves more than 90% of the energy needed to make a new can.

Making a can from recycled aluminium saves more than 90% of the energy needed to make a new can.

In 2019, approximately 43 billion aluminum cans were recycled across the United States, of which, “90% of these recycled cans are converted into aluminum sheet that is used to make new beverage cans,” Robert Budway, president of the Can Manufacturers Institute, recently noted on the occasion of the “Sustainability Key Performance Indicators for Aluminum Can” that came out of the Report produced in conjunction with The Aluminum Association: “The Aluminum Can Advantage Sustainability Key Performance Indicator.”

The following are some of the conclusions of the report:

– In 2019, the industry recycled 42.7 billion cans for an industry recycling rate of 55.9%. A decrease of 63.6 percent in 2018. This change was largely driven by production changes within the industry in 2019.
– Aluminum cans continue to be the most recycled beverage containers in the United States with a 10 to 20 point recycling rate advantage over glass and plastic.
– The report finds that scrap aluminum cans have an average value of $1,210 per ton versus $237 per ton for plastic (PET) and -$21 per ton for glass.

The report released last December 2020 concludes that while the aluminum can is the most recycled and recyclable beverage container on the market today, more can be done to increase can recycling in the United States.

“In 2019, 50 billion cans, more than $810 million worth of aluminum, ended up in a landfill, a significant loss to the economy and the environment.

Making a can from recycled aluminium saves more than 90% of the energy needed to make a new can”. And not only this. “The energy saved by recycling 100 percent of aluminum cans could power 4.1 million homes for a full year.”