RECYCLING JOURNEY - PART 2

Here is a question for my blog followers – WHAT IS THE MOST ECONOMICAL ITEM WE CAN RECYCLE??????

ANSWER: ALUMINUM!!!

Aluminum is one of the most plentiful substances on Earth – the most common metal found in the planet’s crust.  It is also a friendly element because it is often found tightly bound to other elements like rubies and sapphires.  The extraction of aluminum is done by electrolysis and is therefore very expensive.  The more aluminum we can recycle, the less has to be mined. Because aluminum cans are still thrown away, at some point it might become practical to “mine” them from landfills.

Recycling aluminum is a CLOSED LOOP PROCESS.  This means that no new materials are introduced during the recycling process.  Aluminum is infinitely recyclable.  The cans can be recycled over and over again without affecting the quality or quantity of the aluminum.  Because of this efficiency, more than 2/3 of all aluminum product ever produced is still in use today.

JOURNEY OF AN ALUMINUM CAN – I BECAME ANOTHER ALUMINUM CAN (AGAIN AND AGAIN)!

            As aluminum cans move along a conveyor belt, a special machine creates a reverse magnetic field that pushes them off the belt and into a bin. The cans are crushed and shredded into walnut-sized pieces. The pieces are screened to remove any non-aluminum materials and are then passed through a blast of very hot air to remove any paint or lacquer.

            The shredded aluminum is fed into a furnace where it becomes molten metal. It is then poured into a mold.  This cooled aluminum is called a “brick” or “ingot” and weighs 36,000 pounds.  It takes 1.5 million cans to make an ingot. The ingot is then heated just enough to be rolled into a coil that is 9 miles long.  Manufacturers use this coil to make new cans and lids.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENT TO THIS BLOG THAT RELATE TO RECYCLING. I WILL RESEARCH YOUR QUESTIONS AND POST THE ANSWERS.