Aluminum is one of the most abundant metals on earth. Aluminum is lightweight, durable and resists corrosion and rusting. Aluminum recycling had been in practice since the early 1900s and has remained fairly low-profile until the 1960s when the increase in aluminum beverage cans brought recycling to the forefront. Aluminum recycling is the process by which scrap aluminum can be reused in other products.
The process used by Aluminum Recycling Company in Baltimore MD to recycle aluminum is to simply re-melt the aluminum. Re-melting aluminum is significantly less expensive and uses less energy, than creating new or “virgin” aluminum. This is why 31% of the aluminum produced in the United States originates from recycled scrap metal. Companies like Mid-Atlantic Metals Inc, an Aluminum Recycling Company in Baltimore MD, get their scrap metal from the aircraft, automobile, and computer industries. Used cookware, gutters, wire, siding, and, of course, beverage cans are also significant sources of scrap metal.
Aluminum beverage cans are recycled by Aluminum Recycling Company in Baltimore MD by first separating them from municipal waste. The cans are cut into small pieces, cleaned and loaded into a furnace and heated to about 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the final alloy needed, various metals are added to alter the composition of the molten aluminum until the desired alloy is created. The furnace is tapped, and the molten material poured and cast into ingots, billets or rods.
More than 100 billion aluminum cans are sold yearly in the United States, of which half are recycled. A report released by the Can Manufacturers Institute, Aluminum Association and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, notes the rate of aluminum can recycle in the United States, reached a high of 67% in 2012. Recycling aluminum does not change its properties, allowing aluminum to be recycled indefinitely and still be used in place of creating new aluminum products.
Recycling aluminum cans is a substantial cost saving over the production of new aluminum. The energy required to recycle aluminum is 5% of that needed to produce new aluminum. The reuse of a single aluminum can save the equivalent in energy used to burn a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. Aluminum cans themselves consist of 68% recycled metal. Click here for more information.
