The reuse of aluminum beverage cans presents unique challenges and opportunities. Aluminum beverage cans can be recycled, but the process is fraught with complications.
Reusing cans is expensive for two reasons. Investing as much as $1 million for a new aluminum recycling facility is financially out of reach with many smaller firms. It includes the cost of machinery, labour and operational overheads! It is important that the recycling process be efficient, with current plants achieving recovery up to 95% of aluminum from raw material (i.e. more than only 5% of the feedstock are lost).
The inherent properties of Aluminum make it a highly recyclable material. That metal never loses its quality, no matter how many times it is recycled. This setting is one of a kind since materials such as plastic, for example, break down after some time. Did you know that an aluminum can could be back on store shelves in as little as 60 days after being collected for recycling?
Yet the market requirement for recycled aluminium is essential. For example, Alcoa a major producer of aluminum says that approximately 75% of all the companionaluminum manufacturing materialssent usingsend out today are still being used thanks to recycling efforts. This statistic speaks to the sustainability of aluminum and underlines how seriously this industry takes a circular economy.
There are also major environmental benefits to recycling aluminum beverage cans. The top selling point for recycling aluminum is that it saves up to 95% of the energy needed to make new aluminum from raw materials an announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency stated. Aluminum recycling also brings about a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, because these energy savings lead to less production of fossil fuels.
While all of these benefits are great, the practical issues with reusing aluminum beverage cans for their original function>rind. Sanitation standards, this business will need a complete cleansing in order to avoid if from corruption. These standards add a large cost and effort burden which usually make direct reuse impractical, compared to recycling the aluminum or remanufacturing it into new beverage cans.
Innovative companies like Staying True Recycling take this why not use back concept and repurpose tins to create an entirely new life beyond their initial function. One example of this trend in the craft beer industry is when smaller breweries repackage their beer using aluminum cans with unique labels and designs for small [limited-edition] bottle releases. This is the technique of using possibilities for creative maltreatment aluminum cans.
To summarize, because of reuse by consumers from beverage aluminum cans is problematic (although recycling it remains highly efficient and environmentally-friendly). The aluminum recycling industry, motivated by both economic and environmental benefits is more robust than ever ensuring that the humble aluminum beverage can continues to remain a sustainable packaging choice.
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