Aluminum cans are a popular packaging material for beverages and other products due to their lightweight and durable nature. However, they can also have negative environmental impacts if not disposed of properly. Fortunately, aluminum cans are one of the most easily recyclable materials, with nearly 75% of all aluminum ever produced still in use today.
The demand for aluminum cans has been steadily increasing, with the COVID-19 pandemic driving up consumption due to an increase in at-home beverage consumption. This makes recycling even more important to meet the demand for new cans while conserving resources. The Aluminum Association estimates that for every 1% increase in the recycling rate for aluminum cans, energy savings equivalent to 7,000 homes’ energy use for one year can be achieved.
One of the advantages of mechanical recycling is that it can be done on a large scale, making it cost-effective and efficient. Additionally, recycling aluminum cans saves a significant amount of energy compared to producing new cans from scratch. It takes around 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than it does to produce it from raw materials.
To recycle aluminum cans, consumers can simply place them in recycling bins or take them to a local recycling center. From there, the cans are collected and sorted by material type before being processed through the mechanical recycling system. As we can see, the most common method for recycling aluminum cans is mechanical recycling. The GREENMAX dewater is applicable for aluminum cans recycling. The process of recycling involves collecting used cans, shredding them into small pieces, and then using a furnace to melt them down into aluminum ingots. These ingots can then be used to produce new aluminum products, such as cans, car parts, or even airplane components.
Overall, mechanical recycling is an effective and sustainable way to manage aluminum can waste. By recycling, we can reduce the amount of waste in landfills and conserve valuable resources. It’s important for everyone to do their part in properly disposing of aluminum cans and other recyclable materials to help protect our planet. INTCO is also working hard on the aluminum cans recycling machine improvement.