Recycling
Quick Read
Aluminum producers and recyclers in the aluminum industry work with individuals, communities and businesses to enable both curbside and industrial recycling programs. UBC (used beverage container) recycling is the most readily recognized of the recycling programs. Aluminum is also recycled at the end of life from products such as cars and building parts. Window frames, wire, tubing and electronics are additional examples of aluminum that is recycled at the end of life.
Take-Away Facts
Aluminum Recycling
Recycling collection
Aluminum is recycled through a variety of programs. The most commonly recognized consumer programs are curbside and municipal. In these programs, items like beverage cans, aluminum foil, aluminum baking trays and pie pans are recycled. The aluminum industry actively supports the Curbside Value Partnership, which is a program dedicated to increasing participation in curbside recycling programs and to measure this growth using solid data. Within the industry, building and automotive parts are collected for recycling. More than 90 percent of the aluminum in building and automotive parts is recycled at the end of use. All of these items serve as a feedstock and are sent to aluminum recyclers to be melted down in the secondary production process.
Recycling continuously
Aluminum is one of the most recycled -- and most recyclable -- materials on the market today. Nearly 75 percent of all aluminum produced in the U.S. is still in use today. Aluminum can be recycled over and over again without any loss to quality. In fact, an aluminum beverage container can be recycled and back on the shelf in 60 days.
Recycling is economical
The economics of aluminum also contributes to its position as one of the most-recycled metals in the U.S. Unlike many other materials, aluminum more than pays for its own recycling in the consumer and industrial waste stream. The reason: demand for aluminum continues to skyrocket and recycling aluminum saves more than 90 percent of the energy required versus producing new metal.
Recycling in WWII
During WWII, aluminum foil was so vital to the defense effort that families were encouraged to save strips of foil. In many towns, the foil balls could be exchanged for a free entry to a movie theater. Government-sponsored posters, ads, radio shows, and pamphlet campaigns urged Americans to contribute to scrap drives. A New York radio station, WOR, debuted the radio-sketch show "Aluminum for Defense" in 1941.
Source: http://www.aluminum.org/industries/production/recycling
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the recycling rate
defined and calculated?
For aluminium, three recycling rates apply:
1. The recycling input rate
(recycled aluminium/total aluminium
supplied to fabricators)
2. The end-of-life recycling efficiency rate
(aluminium recycled from old scrap/
aluminium available for collection after
use)
3. The overall recycling efficiency rate
(recycled aluminium/aluminium
available for collection at production,
fabrication and manufacturing and
after use)
The recycling input rate does not reflect
the recycling activity of the aluminium
industry. It purely takes into account the
origin of the metal, i.e. primary or
recycled. The amount of recycled
aluminium is based on statistics pertaining
to the remelters' production from tolled
and purchased scrap and the refiners'
production. Furthermore, the recycling
input rate is significantly influenced by
import and export activities at all life
cycle stages. Thus a healthy fabrication
industry which is able to export its
products "destroys" the recycling input
rate per definition.
The end-of-life and the overall efficiency
rate is obtained by multiplying the
collection rate (aluminium collected/
aluminium available for collection) by the
treatment efficiency rate (aluminium
treated/aluminium collected) by the
melting efficiency rate, also termed net
metal yield (aluminium recycled/
aluminium treated).
The recycled aluminium referred to in
the recycling efficiency rates is therefore
not determined on the basis of statistics,
but calculated by means of a material flow
model. Collection rates differ greatly,
however. New scrap has a collection rate
of almost 100% and aluminium from
buildings approximately 96%. The
collection rate of aluminium beverage cans
has reached 52% in 2005 and this figure
continues to rise. But aluminium utilised
in powder, paste and for deoxidation
purposes is defined as impossible to
recycle after use, because it loses its
metallic properties. Aluminium metal
losses incurred during separation
treatment range from 0% (no treatment
necessary) to 10%.
Melting losses are defined as the
proportion of metal in the scrap lost
during melting, which therefore excludes
all aluminium oxides found on the surface
of scrap prior to melting. Delft University
of Technology and the OEA determined in
a joint research project how resourceconservative
the industry is when melting
aluminium scrap and found that melting
oxidation losses are on average 2%.
The end-of-life recycling efficiency rate
can also be used to provide productspecific
definitions for life cycle analysis
purposes. Here, the recycling rate of one
specific product, such as end-of-life
vehicles, is calculated.
How much energy is saved
by aluminium recycling
compared to primary
aluminium production?
The energy required to produce one tonne
of recycled aluminium ingots from clean
scrap can be as little as 5% of the energy
needed to produce one tonne of primary
aluminium.
However, aluminium scrap is frequently
mixed with other materials and additional
energy may be required to separate the
aluminium and protect the environment
from the impact of these materials.
Further energy needs relating to both
the primary and recycled aluminium
production chain are dependent on the
technology applied and the geographical
location, and therefore on local energy mix
and efficiency as well as transportation
distances.
Hence, it is only possible to calculate
overall magnitude of a universal value for
energy savings.
Is it possible to recycle
aluminium without loss of
properties?
Yes, recycled aluminium can have the
same properties as primary aluminium.
However, in the course of multiple
recycling, more and more alloying
elements are introduced into the metal
cycle. This effect is put to good use in the
production of casting alloys, which
generally need these elements to attain
the desired alloy properties. For instance,
in the composition of alloy EN-AC 46000
(Al Si9Cu3 (Fe), containing about 9% silicon
and 3% copper), which is widely used for
automotive applications like cylinder
heads and gearboxes, the need for alloying
elements is manifestly clear. Approximately
26% of aluminium in Europe is used for
castings, where aluminium scrap is
especially chosen for its valuable alloy
content. Thus, aluminium recycling
contributes not only to the sustainable
use of aluminium but also, to some extent,
its alloying elements, making it both
economical and ecological!
Many of these alloying elements do,
however, limit the usability of recycled
aluminium in the production of fabricated
goods, like extrusion billets or rolling
ingots. Therefore, aluminium scrap with an
alloy composition corresponding to that of
wrought alloys is separated whenever
possible.
Is there an oversupply of
high-alloyed scrap?
Absolutely not! As long as there is a
growing demand for aluminium castings
worldwide, a shortage of high-alloyed
scrap is closer to the truth. The supply
situation may become even worse, since
the automotive revolution is just in its
starting phase in many developing
countries.
Is the recycled aluminium
content of products an
indicator of recycling
efficiency?
"Recycled content" is a phrase with a
certain ecological appeal. But, what does
it actually mean in the context of the
aluminium industry?
From a technical point of view, there is
no problem to produce a new aluminium
product from the same used product. There
are no quality differences between a
product entirely made of primary metal
and a product made of recycled metal.
If all aluminium applications were grouped
together, the average global recycled
content (excluding fabricator scrap) would
stand at around 33% overall. But, in
reality, recycled content varies substantially
from one product to another. With the
continued growth of the aluminium
market and the fact that most aluminium
products have a fairly long lifespan (in the
case of buildings, potentially more than
100 years), it is not possible to achieve
high recycled content in all new aluminium
products, simply because the available
quantity of end-of-life aluminium falls
considerably short of total demand.
Furthermore, recycled aluminium is
used where it is deemed most efficient
in both economic and ecological terms.
Directing the scrap flow towards
designated products in order to obtain
high recycled content in those products
would inevitably mean lower recycled
content in other products. It would also
certainly result in inefficiency in the global
optimisation of the scrap market, as well
as wasting transportation energy. Calls
to increase recycled content in specific
categories of aluminium products make
no ecological sense at all.
Even though the recycled content of a
particular product or product part may
range from 0% to 100%, all collected
aluminium is recycled . Aluminium that
cannot be collected includes that used
in powder, paste and for deoxidation
purposes as, after use, it loses its metallic
properties.
What are the European sources
of aluminium scrap?
Recycled aluminium is produced from both
new and old scrap. New scrap is surplus
material that arises during the production,
fabrication and manufacture of aluminium
products up to the point where they are
sold to the final consumer. The production
route of new scrap from collection to
recycled metal is thus controlled by
the aluminium industry. Old scrap is
aluminium material that is treated and
melted down after an existing aluminium
product has been used, discarded and
collected. Based on statistics and existing
knowledge of the European aluminium
scrap flow (excluding internal scrap),
approximately 40% of recycled aluminium
originates from old scrap, and the rest is
new scrap.
Why does the industry not
recycle 100% of all available
aluminium?
The industry continues to recycle all the
aluminium collected from end-of-life
goods and by-products. However, the
collection of aluminium-containing endof-
life products from municipal waste
streams (e.g. household waste) depends
largely on national waste schemes. The
amount collected could be increased with
the help of appropriate authorities, local
communities and heightened awareness
by society as a whole. The environmental
feasibility of whether to recycle or
incinerate flexible packaging waste, such
as aluminium laminated to paper and/or
plastic layers, which has a very low
aluminium content can only be decided
case-by-case by comparing the specific
alternatives by life cycle assessments,
taking specific local circumstances and
other aspects of sustainability into
consideration. Generally the energy
required for the production of packaging is
only a small percentage compared to the
total energy used to produce and supply
the final product.
If the final product is spoilt due to
inadequate packaging material, much
more energy is wasted than needed to
produce the packaging itself.
During all industrial processes involving
treatment and melting, a certain degree of
material loss is inevitable. Aluminium
losses during such processes are therefore
unavoidable, and this holds true for all
other materials. But a recycling rate of
almost 100% can be achieved with new
scrap, such as aluminium sheets, because
the route from collection to melting is
entirely in the hands of the aluminium
recycling industry.
Certain applications are not available for
recycling as they loose their metallic
properties by their very nature. For example,
in order to produce one tonne of steel in
a basic oxygen furnace, around 1.8 kg of
aluminium is needed for deoxidation
purposes. Other examples of metal loss
include use as aluminium powder or as
an additive to metallic lacquers.