Aluminum foil is a very widely used household item. You can use it to wrap food, grill or even more creative purposes, like crafts. But what happens when you are done using your aluminum foil? Do you dispose of it in the trash? Here are a few facts about aluminum:
Americans recycle roughly 65 to 70 percent of the aluminum they use in their household. However, this mostly includes cans and not commonly used aluminum foil. Instead, thousand of tons of this make it into landfills every year. We throw away enough aluminum to create an entire fleet of commercial airliners.
What many people don’t realize is that aluminum is practically 100 percent recyclable. It is extremely durable and can be reused over and over again. Aluminum foil is technically just as recyclable as aluminum cans. The problem is that aluminum foil is often dirtier, thus making it harder to recycle.
It takes 95 percent less energy to make aluminum from recycled aluminum, versus using bauxite ore (virgin materials). For example, recycling one aluminum can will save enough energy to run a television for three hours. It was estimated in 1996 that aluminum manufacturers saved enough energy by recycling aluminum that they could power a city the size of Pittsburgh for roughly six years!
Americans throw away about three pounds of aluminum foil annually. It will take roughly 400 years for aluminum to break down naturally in the landfill. Some landfills incinerate aluminum, which releases toxic metals and gas into the atmosphere.
1 comment:
Thanks for this. Years ago my cousin and I got in to a debate about recycling. He claimed that it took more nrg to recycle aluminum than to make a new beer can or whatever. Then my own brother took his side! So I'm sitting here realizing people out there still probably still have that belief.
Post a Comment