Aluminum Cans: The Sustainable Packaging Choice – Part 5

According to a new report released by the Aluminum Association, Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and Institute of Recycling Industries (ISRI), aluminum cans are today the most recycled and highest value beverage container on the market today. The new report was released ahead of the Memorial Day weekend – the unofficial start of summer, during which time can shipments typically increase by as much as 20% over other months.

In the last of a series of entries, we take a look at how the aluminum can is impacting recycling today.

Doing More

Each year in the United States, nearly 40 billion cans – $800 million worth of aluminum – end up landfills. The energy saved by recycling 100 percent of aluminum cans in the U.S. could power 4 million homes for a full year. Making a can from recycled aluminum saves 92 percent of the energy required to make a new can.

(Imagery courtesy of the Aluminum Association)