History of Aluminum Recycling

History

• Recycling aluminum dates back to 1904, when the first recycling plants in the United States opened in Chicago and Cleveland. During World War II, thousands of tons of material, including aluminum in cans and other forms, were recycled to support the Allied troops and war effort.

Growth

• After the lightweight all-aluminum can was introduced in 1964, its popularity as a beverage container grew. Manufacturers recognized the value of reusing empty cans as a raw material. As a result, the aluminum industry developed a large system for collecting and reusing cans and other sources of aluminum. In 1972, returned cans numbered about 1.2 billion. By 1995, more than 10,000 recycling centers and curbside pickup programs collected more than 62 billion aluminum cans for reuse.

Sources

• Besides aluminum cans, the metal also is recovered from automobiles, windows and doors, appliances, yard furniture and other items.

Economics

• Using recycled aluminum to make new products is more cost effective and energy efficient than using raw materials. Production using recycled aluminum requires much less equipment and only about 5 percent of the energy needed to produce products from virgin aluminum.

Savings

• The energy saved from recycling 1 ton of aluminum is enough to equal what the average home uses in 10 years, according to Keep America Beautiful. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that recycling just one aluminum can save enough electricity to run a computer for three hours or a television for two hours.