Fun and interesting facts about "going" green!


Like most metals, aluminum is an ore. An ore is a mineral that is mined for a valuable material contained within it. Bauxite, a reddish clay-like ore, is rich in aluminum compounds. The tricky thing about aluminum—unlike copper, iron, and other common metals—is that it only exists in combination with other elements, usually oxygen. Combined with oxygen, aluminum forms an extremely hard material known as alumina. To free the aluminum, the alumina must be stripped or reduced of its oxygen.

This process is done at a reduction plant, or smelter. The alumina is put into large pots at the reduction plant. First, it is dissolved in a molten (or liquid) salt. Then, a powerful electric current is run through the liquid to separate the aluminum from the oxygen. The molten aluminum sinks to the bottom of the pots. The reduction process requires a tremendous amount of electrical energy. That is why recycling aluminum makes sense. It saves energy—a lot of energy.

Today, aluminum can recycling saves about 11.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh)—enough electricity to light a city the size of Pittsburgh for six years. As you probably know, energy is expensive! Just take a look at your electric bill, or note the price of a gallon of gasoline the next time you see a gas station. Making a pound of aluminum from bauxite ore (a pound is about how much 34 aluminum beverage cans weigh) takes 7.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Making aluminum from recycled aluminum scrap, on the other hand, takes only four percent of the energy—just one-third kWh. Recycling four aluminum cans saves as much energy as the energy in one cup of gasoline.

That is also why used aluminum items have a high scrap value. Aluminum manufacturers save energy and money by using recycled aluminum, so they will pay you for your old cans—about a penny for every can.

Aluminum Can Life Sycle 1. You enjoy your favorite beverage in an aluminum can 2. You are a good "sort." You put the aluminum can in a bag for recycling. 3. Recycling company takes the cans to a recycling plant. The aluminum is shredded and melted. 4. The molten aluminum is gradually hardened into ingot form. 5. Ingots are made into aluminum sheets or other desired forms. 6. The aluminum is made into new cans, and the cycle begins again.