Most people think of drink cans or other small household items when they think of aluminum recycling, but there’s no shortage of larger items made from this versatile metal. Aluminum is all over the place, so recycling as much of it as possible makes sense. Some common items made from aluminum include gutters, car and airplane parts, ladders, siding, mailboxes, golf clubs, foil, pans, and drink cans.
Here are a few interesting facts about aluminum recycling to encourage you to think twice before you toss your aluminum scrap metal into the dumpster or landfill.
- Aluminum is among the most frequently recycled metals on the planet. Each year, over 30 million tons of it get recycled worldwide. This is partly because of how many products are made from aluminum.
- Aluminum recycling is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Extracting and refining raw aluminum ore is complicated and expensive, but the aluminum recycling process is one of the simplest of all metals. It takes about 60 days from start to finish to recycle an aluminum can.
- Unlike plastic, where recycling often costs more than making new plastic and the quality goes down with each recycling, there is no limit to how many times you can recycle aluminum.
- It can take up to 80 years for aluminum to even begin to decompose and hundreds of years for it to break down fully.
At Power Force Recycling, we buy and recycle all kinds of scrap metal, including aluminum. If you’d like to learn more about our aluminum recycling process or get a quote for a pick-up, contact us today.