Aluminum foil recyclable facts from ablison.com? The Energy People Save by Recycling Aluminum: Recycling aluminum saves 90% to 95% of the energy needed to make aluminum from bauxite ore. It doesn’t matter if you’re making aluminum cans, roof gutters or cookware, it is simply much more energy-efficient to recycle existing aluminum to create the aluminum needed for new products than it is to make aluminum from virgin natural resources. So how much energy are we talking about here? Recycling one pound of aluminum (33 cans) saves about 7 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. With the energy it takes to make just one new aluminum can from bauxite ore, you can make 20 recycled aluminum cans.
How to recycle aluminum foil? Your first step is to make sure your aluminum foil is devoid of food waste. You can rinse off small bits of food, like cookie crumbs and fruit or vegetable juice. The foil may discolor if you use hot water, but that is totally normal. If the foil is very heavily soiled with oily or greasy foods like meat, frosting, gravy or butter, it will need to go in the trash. Your second step is to determine if your curbside recycling program accepts aluminum foil. If you live in Austin, Raleigh or Washington, D.C., you can place clean aluminum foil in your recycling bin.
Foil is made from the same material as soda cans (aluminum), but since it’s most often contaminated with food waste or combined with plastic (like with yogurt tops), there’s no guarantee you can recycle it with your aluminum cans. You want to make sure that aluminum foil is as clean as possible before recycling. While burns and holes won’t affect the recycling market, you’ll want to remove any meats or sauces from the foil. Discover extra information on is foil recyclable.
If you are able to recycle your aluminum foil locally, pat yourself on the back: Recycled aluminum saves more than 90 percent of the energy needed to produce virgin aluminum, and it’s one of the most valuable recyclable materials. Its recycling lifecycle is also relatively quick: An aluminum can that’s put in a recycling bin can be back on the shelves, as another can, in as little as two months. You can even buy aluminum foil that is made of recycled aluminum.
The global demand for aluminum, however, continues to increase. Manufacturers currently use about 35 percent of recovered aluminum and about 65 percent of primary aluminum to meet their needs. While Americans recycled 57.4 percent of aluminum in 2009, the industry has a self-imposed goal of a 75 percent recycling rate. By working with local communities, authorities and society as a whole, the aluminum industry is hoping to encourage more recycling in order to satisfy increased demand. Read more info at https://www.ablison.com/how-to-recycle-aluminum-foil-and-is-it-biodegradable/.