Aluminum recycle info? All in all, the energy it takes to replace all of the aluminum cans wasted every year in the United States alone is equivalent to 16 million barrels of oil, enough to keep a million cars on the road for a year. If all those discarded cans were recycled every year, the electricity saved could power 1.3 million American homes. If you consider how far that energy could go in powering compact-fluorescent (CFL) or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, or the new energy-efficient laptops, the costs really start to mount up.
The main challenge to recycling aluminum foil is that it is often contaminated with food waste. Grease and oils can damage recycling equipment and create an inferior end product, so food-affected waste has to be thrown away (all that food will also cause the foil to smell really bad, which will make the staff at your local recycling center very unhappy). Some communities accept aluminum foil in their recycling bins as long as it is clean. Others are not willing to take that risk. We have some advice for dedicated recyclers who really want to keep their aluminum foil out of landfills. We also share a couple of ways to decrease your use of aluminum foil.
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 extra details on can i recycle aluminum foil.
While most recycled aluminum is in the form of cans, aluminum foil is technically recyclable, but there’s a catch: It needs to be clean — that is, free of food residue, as grease or food residue can contaminate the other recyclables during the recycling process. In part because of the issues with contamination, and the reality that most people are unlikely to rinse their aluminum foil before recycling it, some waste haulers will not accept aluminum foil for recycling; the damage soiled aluminum foil does to other recyclables can outweigh the benefit of trying to recycle the aluminum foil.
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. Discover extra information on https://www.ablison.com/how-to-recycle-aluminum-foil-and-is-it-biodegradable/.