How Does One Can Recycled Make a Difference?

Energy Savings

• It takes 95 percent less energy to make a can from recycled materials than it does to create that can from virgin ore. That energy savings is enough to power a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a television for three hours. To put the matter another way, if you were to throw out your aluminum can, you would waste half its volume in gasoline. That is not an insignificant amount of energy.

Pollution Prevented

• Recycling one aluminum can also keeps the pollutants involved in creating a new can out of the ecosystem. One recycled aluminum can prevents the production of 23 grams (0.77 ounces) of red mud. Red mud is the by-product of mining bauxite ore for aluminum. It contains trace amounts of the radioactive elements uranium, thorium and radium; contains high levels of arsenic and chromium; and does not have a secondary use. Recycling one can also prevents the release of 19 grams (0.68 ounces) of greenhouse gases.

Landfill Space

• One 12 ounce can of soda takes up 355 cubic centimeters (21.6 cubic inches) of landfill space. You can crush the can and reduce that volume by 80 percent. That may not sound like a large amount, but if you threw away one can every day for a year, your cans would take up 0.13 cubic meters (0.17 cubic yards) or 0.026 cubic meters (0.034 cubic yards) of space, respectively. Landfill space is at a premium, and any reduction in the waste stream has value.

Charitable Benefits

• The aluminum in recycled cans has monetary value. If you want your recycled can to make a difference, you could give your can to a charitable organization to recycle and allow them to collect its value. Charitable organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Boy Scouts of America hold can drives to collect funds for their organizations. Your aluminum can represents a donation of approximately one cent to the cause of your choice.

Can Deposit Refunds

• If you want to line your own pockets and live in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon or Vermont, you can turn in the can to get the deposit refund. States with refunds charge a deposit of five or ten cents when you buy a can of soda, which is then refunded when you turn the can in for recycling. Throwing away rather that recycling the can means you forfeit the deposit you paid when you bought your soda.