Of all the metals on earth, Aluminum has the highest recycling rate and can be recycled over and over again into cans and more cans. That’s called Closed Loop recycling, when a can can be recycled into a new can, and the recycling cycle continues turning old cans into new cans.
- Aluminum cans are far more valuable than glass or plastic that are typically “downcycled” into products like carpet fiber.
- Aluminum is a third the weight of steel or copper, easy to mold, and recycle.
- Cans are lightweight, stackable and strong, allowing beverage brands to package and transport beverages using less material when shipping.
- Recycling aluminum only takes around 5% of the energy needed to make new aluminum.
What’s the quantity we’re talking about?
Aluminum is the second-most abundant metallic element in Earth's crust.
Atlas Metal and Iron accepts:
- Cans
- Clips
- Sheet
- Radiators
- Cast aluminum
- Extrusions
- Wheels
- Insulated and non-insulated wire.
Aluminum stats that make you think twice
It was Colorado’s own Adolph Coors Company that introduced the first recyclable aluminum can to the market in 1959. The can was 7 oz. size, called a pony beer.
Aluminum can recycling was a low-profile practice until the 1960s when cans-for-cash kiosks were placed in grocery store parking lots and public awareness increased.
About 65 % of America's aluminum is currently recycled.
Every minute, an average of 123,097 aluminum cans are recycled.
Almost 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today.
The U.S. collects more than twice the amount of aluminum today for recycling than it did in the 1980s.
The U.S. aluminum industry recycles more than 40 billion cans each year. That’s 90,000 cans per minute.
How many years of aluminum are left?
Scientists claim that aluminum might run dry in about 80 years.
And yet, Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust (8.1%) but is rarely found uncombined in nature. Asia tops the list as the largest aluminum producing region.
In 2021, approximately 28.7 billion U.S. dollars' worth of aluminum and aluminum products were imported into the United States positioning the U.S. as the top buyer of aluminum in the globe.
Infinitely recyclable
More than 90% of the aluminum used in cars, buildings, airplanes and similar industrial products is recycled.
The price of aluminum is expensive today. The price is directly affected by energy prices in the United States and Europe, all of which have surged in past last year.
Where is aluminum used besides cans?
A single Boeing-747 contains 147,000 pounds of aluminum.
Up to 24% of an iPhone’s mass is constructed of aluminum in companion with titanium and iron metals.
Plus aluminum is used in:
- Packaging
- Automotive
- Energy
- Construction
- Transportation
- Energy
- Aerospace.