Crushing Aluminum Cans

When you recycle aluminum cans, it is not required they be crushed first. The main reason you might want to crush aluminum cans is they will take up less space. You will be able to fit more aluminum cans into a bag once they have been crushed. If you have middle school age boys, they will love spending their time stepping on cans to crush them for you. Not all of you are so lucky, however you will be happy to know aluminum can crushers are on the market and their cost is reasonable.

Crushing Aluminum Cans

Crushing Aluminum Cans

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Crushing Aluminum Cans

Crushing Aluminum Cans

You will find a number of can crushers to choose from. Depending on your needs you can choose a single can crusher, a multi-can crusher or a garbage can crusher. You can even get the Easy Pull Can Crusher, which works alone or it attached to a collection bin. The collection bin looks very much like a large 30-gallon trash can. The can crushers range in price from .99 to .95. You can find them at Target, and many hardware stores. You can purchase them online also.

Can crushers are made from a very sturdy construction, which can crush all standard 12 oz. Or 16 oz can to about 1-inch. Can crushers can be used in garages, basements, pantries, cabins, dorms, campers, schools, and much more. Just about anywhere you need a can crusher you can use one. They are very simple and easy to use. They will help you save space while you are doing your part for the environment. Not to mention the extra money sell the aluminum will bring you. At one time the price per pound for cans was about $.60. It may not sound like much, but it adds up quicker than you might think. If you buy coke or Pepsi products for your home in 12 ct. or 24 ct. cans, you will find you can amass a good size number in a short amount of time, especially if you have help drinking some of those.

Recycling cans is one of the easiest things to do. It is reported Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild all of our commercial planes. It sounds like a lot because it is. By recycling our aluminum cans we can conserve enough energy to run a 100-watt Light bulb for 4 hours or a television for 3 hours. Recycling aluminum cans also saves 95% of the energy needed to make new aluminum cans. Recycling also creates 95% less air pollution and 93% less water pollution than making new aluminum cans. The great aspect of aluminum is it can be recycled over and over again and the end product will always be the same. In fact it only takes 60 days for a can to be recycled and end up back on the shelf with more soda for you to purchase again. So by crushing them with a can crusher you will save yourself space, and by recycling them you will provide the earth with a much need favor environmentally.

Just as a note: Some recycling centers will ask that you not crush the aluminum cans, so you might check with the recycling center you will be using to find out their preference before purchasing a can crusher or crushing your can.

Crushing Aluminum Cans

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Aluminum Can Recycling Benefits

Aluminum has been used for thousands of years. Today, it can be found in a wide array of applications, with one of the most common uses being in canned foods and drinks. Since canned food consumption is so prevalent, it has made recycling metal cans an integral part of minimizing wastes and unnecessarily space in landfills. The best part is that aluminum can be continually recycled indefinitely.

Besides avoiding wasted space in landfills with aluminum cans, recycling aluminum is also an energy saver, which is also an environmental benefit. The energy savings is pretty astounding. It takes just five percent of the energy needed to create aluminum from scratch. That's because making new aluminum cans requires a lot of electricity to turn aluminum oxide into aluminum.

Can Crusher

In addition to the environmental motives for recycling aluminum cans, there is a financial incentive in doing it. Even when you take into account the cost of collecting, separating, and recycling aluminum cans, it is much more cost effective than producing new aluminum cans.

Aluminum Can Recycling Benefits

History of Aluminum Can Recycling

Believe it or not, aluminum can recycling is not a particularly new process. Recycling aluminum has been around since the early 20th century. In 1904, the first aluminum recycling plants opened in Chicago and New York. Recycling played a significant role in supporting Allied forces in World War II. Today, it plays a major role in our aluminum production. According to 2008 statistics, about 31 percent of all aluminum that is made in the United States comes from recycled scrap metal.

How Aluminum is Recycled

Here is an abbreviated version of how aluminum is recycled once it gets to the recycling facility:

First, a processing facility sorts the aluminum from other materials. The process uses eddy current, an electrical current that helps separate aluminum from the other materials. The aluminum is then cut into small equal pieces to minimize volume which makes it easier on the machines that separate them. Next the pieces are cleaned and put in large blocks to minimize oxidation. The blocks of aluminum are loaded into a furnace and heated to about 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit to produce a molten composition. Dross, the solid impurities that are found floating on the molten metal, is then reMoved from the metal. Samples are taken and then analyzed.

The Future of Aluminum Recycling

The future appears to be bright for aluminum recycling. According to industry estimates, recycling rates are expected to grow by 75 percent over the next 10 years. The growth in recycling has gone from 13.7 million tonnes in 2003 (the metric equivalent of about 30.2 billion pounds) to about 19.4 million tonnes in 2009 (about 42.7 billion pounds).

Aluminum Can Recycling Benefits

IRC Aluminum & Stainless is one of the few independent aluminum & stainless distributors left in the Northwest. Since 1981, the company has been helping clients from Seattle, Washington to the Florida Keys with everything from simple waterjet cutting projects to aluminum boats.

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