The Aluminum Cycle

Aluminum is the most abundant material in the Earth’s crust; however, it is rarely found in its pure form.  In France in 1821, a rock, rich in aluminum called Bauxite was discovered.  Since its discovery, Bauxite has been the primary source mined to produce aluminum. 

Today, thanks to modern technology, Bauxite no longer is our only source for producing products made of aluminum.  Many products such as aluminum cans are made primarily from used beverage containers (UBC) like empty soda cans. 

The recycling process of aluminum begins when you place your can in your recycling container.  Your can is transported along with your other recyclable material to a Material Recovery Facility commonly referred to as a MRF. 

Once your can reaches the MRF, it is placed on a sorting line where it must be separated from other materials that are being recycled. Aluminum is unlike other metals in one major way.  It is not attracted to magnets.  The MRF uses this difference in aluminum to help separate this material from all of the others being recycled.  The aluminum cans are sorted using an eddy current.  An eddy current is an electrical phenomenon which repels the cans off the sorting line and into a separate container.

Once the aluminum is separated, it is crushed or condensed into large bales and shipped to aluminum companies.  When the aluminum bales arrive at the manufacturer, the condensed cans are shredded and stripped of their outside decorations, logos and coloring. These potato-chip size pieces are placed in a furnace where it is melted into ingots.  Ingots are giant tubes of aluminum 25 feet long and weighing 30,000 lbs. 

The ingots are rolled until the aluminum thickness is only one-hundredth of an inch.  Then the aluminum is coiled and shipped to manufacturers who turn these coils into cans. The cans are filled with your favorite beverages and returned to the shelves in your local store in as few as 60 days!

Did you know?

• It takes 95% less energy to make a new aluminum can from an old one than to mine Bauxite ore.
  
• Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run your television set for three hours.
  
• Recycling one ton of aluminum saves enough energy to power your house for 10 years.