Further, unlike PET plastic bottles, aluminum cans can be recycled again and again with no loss of quality. So not surprisingly, aluminum is recycled at much higher rates than PET. Several other things need to change as well, including business models and relationships with suppliers and customers. No one should shed any tears for Novelis.
Unlike its rival Alcoa, Novelis no longer owns bauxite mines or primary processing facilities. So strictly in business terms, Novelis should be able to recoup its investment in recycling facilities by lowering its costs.
But Novelis needs to increase the supply of recycled cans to feed plants like the one in Nachterstedt. That means consumers have to recycle more. The influence and marketing clout of a big beverage company would surely help. Indeed, a few years ago Alcoa tried to get the aluminum industry, beverage companies and waste haulers behind a marketing campaign to drive up all kinds of recycling. But only a handful of companies — Novelis and New Belgium among them — agreed to provide financial support.
The effort fell flat. Here's how to recycle your metal cans, and what not to do. For more information, here's how COP26 is working to get the climate emergency under control. In addition, here's what to know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Don't do this: Toss cans into the recycling bin before cleaning. If foods or liquids are left in the cans, it can contaminate an entire batch of recyclables. Do this instead: Make sure all cans are clear of liquids or foods that could be left in the container.
You can do this by rinsing the can when you're finished with it. Mining may require the removal of trees and vegetation from the site, as well as the use of drills, large bulldozers, and blasting. When the bauxite is loose and broken down into more manageable pieces it is loaded onto trucks that transport the raw material to an alumina refinery. At the refinery, the aluminum is extracted from the bauxite then melted into a molten pool of hot metal. This electricity-intensive process is called smelting.
After further refinement, the aluminum is formed into a large column or slab called an ingot. These are typically about 25 feet long and weigh more than 50, pounds. You may have seen one before strapped onto a flatbed tractor trailer. At this point, the ingot is transported to manufacturers who may make products like serving utensils, foil, metal for airplanes or construction projects, and more.
Aluminum ingots that will be used by beverage can manufacturers will first be pressed into a long continues sheet and rolled up. Some of the rolls can weigh as much as twelve tons and measure almost six miles long.
Next, circles are cut out from the aluminum sheet. The circles are formed into small cups then stretched into the shape of a taller longer can.
After being trimmed and washed the cans are sent to a printer that applies the exterior label and protective coating. Later the cans receive a protective coating on the inside to prevent liquids from coming into contact with the aluminum. Cans are tested for leaks and defects before being sent to beverage suppliers who fill the cans with drinks. After being filled with the tasty liquids we enjoy so much, cans are sealed with pop-tab tops and shipped out to stores.
At the store, cans are put on display on store shelves where consumers, like us, select the beverage can we want to buy and drink. When the beverage is consumed we are left with a decision to make.
Should the empty aluminum can be thrown in the garbage can or a recycling bin? Recyclers use a machine called a hydrapulper to separate the material so they can be turned into different products. The paper fibre is used to make tissues, office paper and more. The leftover aluminum and plastic combination can be used in different ways such as creating lumber-like materials and more.
We also save approximately nine cubic yards of landfill space and litres of oil for every tonne of drink cartons diverted from the trash. Make it easy for everyone in Manitoba to recycle their beverage containers. Sign up and order the bins you need for your workplace, campus, community or home.
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