US aluminum can recycling rate tops 51% in 2004

Sydney (Platts)--23May2005

A total of 51.5-bil cans containing 1.518-bil lb of aluminum were recycled in
the US in 2004, according to The Aluminum Association, Can Manufacturers
Institute and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. The result represents a
recycling rate of 51.2% of the 100.5-bil cans produced in the US in 2004 and
marked a 1.2% increase over the 2003 rate, the first rise since 1997. 

"This rising rate reflects the high value of aluminum recycling," said Craig
Eddy, chairman of the Aluminum Association and president and CEO of Coastal
Aluminum Rolling Mills. "There are tremendous social, economic and
environmental benefits to recycling aluminum cans. We encourage consumers to
contribute to a sustainable environment by purchasing and recycling aluminum
cans." 

Aluminum beverage cans, which are 100% recyclable into new cans indefinitely,
are the most recycled consumer beverage container in the US and boast more
than twice the recycling rate for beverage packages of other materials. 

Recycling is offered through curbside pick-up to around half of Americans,
through drop off and "buy back" centers located in most towns and by donating
cans to charitable groups. The aluminum can is the only packaging material
that more than covers the cost of collection and re-processing for itself. It
also helps subsidize collection of other recyclable materials. According to
the associations, recycling 40 aluminum beverage cans has the energy-saving
equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. 

In 2004, the US recycled enough aluminum cans to conserve the energy
equivalent of over 15-mil barrels of oil. Bill Barker, group director, global
beverage cans, Rexam, and chairman of the Can Manufacturers Institute, said:
"We are looking forward to working with the aluminum sheet suppliers, the
beverage marketers and legislators to promote the values of recycling to
consumers to keep this momentum."

This story was originally published in Platts Metals Alert
http://www.metalsalert.platts.com

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