Aluminum recycle info? How serious is the problem? More than 100 billion aluminum cans are sold in the United States each year, but less than half are recycled. A similar number of aluminum cans in other countries are also incinerated or sent to landfills. That adds up to about 1.5 million tons of wasted aluminum cans worldwide every year. All of those trashed cans have to be replaced with new cans made entirely from virgin materials, which wastes energy and causes extensive environmental damage.
How to recycle aluminum foil? Your first step is to make sure your aluminum foil is devoid of food waste. You can rinse off small bits of food, like cookie crumbs and fruit or vegetable juice. The foil may discolor if you use hot water, but that is totally normal. If the foil is very heavily soiled with oily or greasy foods like meat, frosting, gravy or butter, it will need to go in the trash. Your second step is to determine if your curbside recycling program accepts aluminum foil. If you live in Austin, Raleigh or Washington, D.C., you can place clean aluminum foil in your recycling bin.
If you’re recycling aluminum foil that you bought and used for storage, separate the foil from the paperboard box and corrugated tube before recycling. If foil is combined with other materials (such as in drink boxes, candy wrappers and yogurt tops) and can’t be separated, you’ll want to throw it away. Foil mixed with other materials is considered recycling contamination. Combine all sheets of foil into one ball. This will keep the material easily separated from other products, and also prevent it from blowing away (aluminum foil is a very light material). Read even more details at is foil recyclable.
Aluminum itself is one of the most recyclable — and indeed, one of the most recycled — materials around. According to the Aluminum Association, nearly 75 percent of all the aluminum produced in the US is still in use today, thanks to recycling efforts and the fact that it can be recycled again and again without its quality diminishing. If you’re not ready yet to relegate aluminum foil to the recycling bin or the trash can, you might be able to give clean pieces another life — there are other uses for aluminum foil besides wrapping up leftovers.
The global demand for aluminum, however, continues to increase. Manufacturers currently use about 35 percent of recovered aluminum and about 65 percent of primary aluminum to meet their needs. While Americans recycled 57.4 percent of aluminum in 2009, the industry has a self-imposed goal of a 75 percent recycling rate. By working with local communities, authorities and society as a whole, the aluminum industry is hoping to encourage more recycling in order to satisfy increased demand. Find additional details on https://www.ablison.com/how-to-recycle-aluminum-foil-and-is-it-biodegradable/.