RE C Y C L E , I N DI AN A!
H ow i s a n a lu mi n u m ca n r e cy cle d ?
with new aluminum in a melting
furnace.
The molten aluminum is then
poured and rolled out to reduce
the thickness of the metal.
Used aluminum cans are
collected at local recycling
centers, other collection sites, or
curbside.
The metal is then rolled up and
shipped out to be shaped into
cans, and from there, the cans
will be shipped out to be filled by
the beverage companies.
60 days after the original can was
picked up to be recycled, a new
can is ready to be put out on a
store shelf.
The collected cans are then
condensed into dense, 30-pound
bricks and shipped off to
aluminum companies so they can
be melted down.
The cans are shredded and
stripped of any decorations
during the melting process. The
recycled potato chip sized pieces
of aluminum are then blended
N a ti on a l W a s te T r e n d s :
In 2001, the United States
produced 229 million tons of
waste. Indiana contributed about
18 million tons of that waste. The
national numbers, as well as
Indiana's numbers, have been
steadily increasing over the past
several decades.
Trends in the MSW Generation
Graph
Solid waste generation had
nearly tripled in the US since
1960. The black line indicates
that our per capita waste
generation has gone from 2.7
lbs/person/day to 4.5
lbs/person/day.
Waste Recycling Rates Graph
Recycling rates have increased
since 1960, and according to the
graph, Indiana was above
average in 2001, recycling 40%
of the state's solid waste
compared to the 30% recycled by
the nation as a whole.
The problem, however, is this:
although the nation may be
recycling at a higher rate, there is
also more and more waste being
dumped into the landfills each
year.
I n d i an a W as t e T r e n d s :
As the graph shows, the total
amount of waste generated in
Indiana went from about 10
million tons in 1993 to over 15
million tons in 2001.
This bar graph indicates that the
percentage of diverted solid
waste has incresed over the past
decade, from about 20% in 1993
to close to 40% in 2001.
Recycling has become the norm
throughout the country and the
state, but again, as our recycling
effort increases, the amount of
waste we produce also increases.
Franklin, IN began a recycling
program in an attempt to reduce
their total annual waste of
213,000 tons, when Indiana State
law required that all cities in
Indiana reduce waste by 35% by
1996 and by 50% by 2001.
Franklin now offers weekly
curbside pickup of cans, glass,
plastic, cardboard, and paper.
Why S ho ul d We R ecycl e?
Economic Benefits:
Aluminum is the most valuable
item to recycle and has become
the most recycled item in the
United States.
Every year, the aluminum
industry pays out about $800
million for empty cans. All of
that money can go back into the
community to pay for projects
such as Habitat for Humanity, or
the Boys and Girl Scouts of
America. Money earned from
recycling cans helps people help
themselves and their
communities.
Aluminum has a high market
value and provides incentive to
recycle. When cans are recycled
curbside, the money it generates
helps pay for community
services.
Americans use each day could
add up to a lot of pennies!
Community Benefits:
Recycling of aluminum cans
allows charitable organizations to
earn money for their programs or
communities. These programs
have the ability to improve the
quality of life in their
communities. One example of
this is the "Cans for Habitat"
program which is a national
partnership between Habitat for
Humanity and the Aluminum
Association. Cans are collected
at specific network drop-off
locations. These cans are used to
raise money to build houses for
low-income families nation wide.
Through the development of
recycling centers, aluminum
companies and the transportation
support industry, about 30,000
new jobs have been created by
the recycling industry.
Aluminum cans that are returned
to the recycling center are worth
one penny each, and although
that doesn't seem like very much,
the amount of cans that
Making a ton of aluminum cans from bauxite (virgin ore) uses 229 BTUs of
energy, but producing cans from recycled aluminum only uses 8 BTUs of energy
per can!
A l u m i n u m i s n ' t j u s t f o r c an s an y m o r e !
Aluminum is being used in many items around the world today from buildings to
cars, sports equipment to jewelry. Aluminum isn't just for soda cans!
Cars that have aluminum in them:
Audi A8L
BMW Z8 Alpina
Farrari 360 Modena
Honda Insight
Cadillac Escalade
Chrystler Concorde
Ford Explorer
Range Rover
Nissan Altima
Sports/ Recreation Equipment made
of Aluminum:
- Bicycles
- Fishing Poles
- Tennis Rackets
- Snowmobiles
- Baseball bats
- Golf carts
- Hockey sticks
- Darts
- Camping accessories
A l u m i n u m f u n f ac t s :
Over 50% of produced cans are recycled!
Aluminum is a very durable metal: 2/3 of the aluminum that has ever been
produced is still used today!
113,204 aluminum cans are recycled every minute of every day!
95% less energy is used when making new cans from old ones. That means
that 20 aluminum cans can be made using the same amount of energy that it
takes to make one can out of virgin aluminum.
By recycling one aluminum can, enough energy is saved to keep a 100 watt
light bulb burning for 4 hours, or a television running for 3 hours!
In 2004, 54 billion cans were recycled saving enough energy to equal 15
million barrels of crude oil. That is equal to America's entire gas
consumption for one day!
Throwing away one can would waste enough energy that it would be like
pouring out half of that can's volume of gasoline!
The amount of energy saved from recycling one pound of aluminum is
enough to meet the electric needs of Pittsburgh, PA for 6 years!
Americans use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum cans each year!
Works Cited:
"Aluminum Association: Cool Things Aluminum" <www.aluminum.org> 2004.
"Aluminum Association: How Cans are Made" <www.aluminum.org> 2004.
"Aluminum Association: How Is An Aluminum Can Recycled?" <www.aluminum.org>
2004.
"Aluminum Association: Top 10 Reasons to Recycle" <www.aluminum.org> 2004.
"Aluminum Recycling Statistics" <www.solidwastedistrict.com> 2005.
"Benefits of Aluminum Can Recycling" <indiana.earth911.org> 1996-2005.
"City of Franklin: Recycling Information" <www.franklin-in.gov> 2004.
"Earth 911: recycling centers, water pollution and conservation, Earth Day"
<indiana.earth911.org> 1996-2005.
"Indiana Waste Trends" <www.solidwastedistrict.com> 2005.
"JTR: State Profiles- Indiana" <www.epa.gov> 2005.
"National Waste Trends" <www.solidwastedistrict.com> 2005.