Soda cans can, after all, be recycled relatively easy. While plastic bottles are only recycled at a rate of 26%, the aluminum recycling figure, by comparison is 68%! The recycling rate is a strong defining point for the environmental benefits of this material. Now, the Aluminum Association tells us that recycling aluminum requires 5% of the energy needed to create new aluminum from raw ore. - That's very efficient in terms of energy!
Soda cans are one of the most valuable recyclable commodities on a per-unit basis. A television can be powered for three hours from the energy saved by recycling a single soda. This energy efficiency leads to a more sustainable manufacturing lifecycle, resulting in dramatic reductions of total energy consumed.
This is where the likes of aluminum cans get impressive turnaround times in their lifecycles. The process from the recycling bin to store shelf can take just 60 days. The rapid cycle demonstrates the material's potential to quickly be reintroduced into the market, all of which enables an ongoing supply without putting a strain on our natural resources.
In other companies, another large part is actively engaged in recycling aluminum cans. For example, Coca-Cola has committed to recycling a can for every one sold by 2030. At the same time this initiative is able to increase recycling rates, it further succeeds in enhancing a circular economy. These are essential to driving systemic changes that makes sustainability the norm in industry.
In fact, celebrated environmentalist David Suzuki stated that "We need to accept the world is only a finite place with finite resources. It is essentially a recycling approach applied to the consumption of aluminum cans, that aligns with tenants of sustainability and resource conservation. Aluminium can be recycled ad infinitum because its quality does not degrade when it is reprocessed.
Recycling soda cans are also quite rewarding economically. This adds up to a lot of dollars for the recycled aluminum industry, which in turn allows it to make hundreds and thousands -- you guessed...! The recycling industry in the US supported 534,000 jobs just last year which shows its economic contribution.
The success of soda can recycling programs depends greatly on consumer involvement. Further increasing the recycling rates can be achieved by educating public on importance of recycling and improving accessible to recycle facilities. A survey by the Environmental Protection Agency found 94% of Americans supported recycling, but only 34.7 percent of waste is recycled in the U.S., indicating a gulf between feelings and action.
The recycling of pop cans even then has a tremendous environmental footprint. For example, recycling a ton of aluminum saves 14,000 kilowatt-hours of energy (the equivalent to the annual electrical power consumption of a normal household), 10 cubic yards in landfill space and enough oil is saved from using recycled materials than what would otherwise be burned as fuel associated with processing raw aluminum. These numbers all help illustrate the significant environmental savings that are realized by recycling efforts.
Aluminum recycling procedures are still ameliorated by the technological innovations. The latest tools and innovative techniques are used by modern recycling plants in sorting/shuffling, cleansing as well as processing the milk bottles to give you highly useful recycled information. It extends the sustainability of a beverage.
Not only are we helping save the... planet and collecting some coins in doing so, there is another side to recycling these soda cans. This is in line with global sustainability targets and corporate social responsibility campaigns. How companies, consumers can help to bring about a more sustainable future by being part of recycling program