Aluminium is not only one of the most practical and prolifically used metals out there, it's also the third most abundant element on Earth.

Lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant and a brilliant thermal conductor - aluminium is a valuable material that needs to be sustained.

However, perhaps its greatest asset lies in the benefits and effects of the recycling process.

Austen Knapman will take you through the most fascinating and eye-opening facts surrounding the aluminium recycling process and why it's so important.

#1. Aluminium can be recycled again and again, forever. It doesn't matter how many times aluminium is melted down and remade, it never loses its quality.

#2. Around 75% of the world's aluminium is still in circulation today due to recycling and "100% of the drink cans made and sold in the UK are aluminium."

#3. Aluminium is an incredibly practical metal and needs to be recycled as it's used so widely in household appliances, aeroplane fuselages, drinks cans, window frames, heavy vehicle wheels, electrical wiring, packaging and more.

#4. It takes 90% less energy to recycle an aluminium can than it does to create one from scratch.

#5. Recycling just a single aluminium can saves enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours or a 100 watt light bulb for almost a day.

#6. In America, around $1 billion dollars worth of aluminium cans are thrown away each year.

#7. From the moment an aluminium can reaches a recycling centre it can be back on supermarket shelves within 60 days.

#8. Recycling aluminium could make you money. "The current average price paid for aluminium cans (as of November 2016) is around 40-50p per kg."

#9. The aluminium industry contributes to global warming, producing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide a year along with other harmful greenhouse gases. Aluminium smelting also creates toxic gases such as sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide that make up smog and even acid rain.


Post By Ed Mason