Aluminum foil recycle advices? Aluminum Thrown Away and Never Recycled: We may be recycling more aluminum every year, but things could still be a lot better. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, Americans throw away so much aluminum that every three months we could collect enough scrap to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial airplane fleet from the ground up. That’s a lot of wasted aluminum. Globally, more than half of all the aluminum cans produced and sold every year are thrown away and never recycled, which means they have to be replaced by new cans made from virgin materials.
The main challenge to recycling aluminum foil is that it is often contaminated with food waste. Grease and oils can damage recycling equipment and create an inferior end product, so food-affected waste has to be thrown away (all that food will also cause the foil to smell really bad, which will make the staff at your local recycling center very unhappy). Some communities accept aluminum foil in their recycling bins as long as it is clean. Others are not willing to take that risk. We have some advice for dedicated recyclers who really want to keep their aluminum foil out of landfills. We also share a couple of ways to decrease your use of aluminum foil.
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. See more information at can i recycle aluminum foil.
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.
Putting lightweight, recycled aluminum into cars makes them lighter and more efficient, as well. In 2002 the average car contained 220 to 265 lbs. of aluminum. As of 2011, cars contain an average of 265 to 330 lbs. of aluminum. (see References 4). Lighter, more efficient cars save fossil fuels. Recycling Aluminum Helps Satisfy an Increasing Demand! Manufacturers are also becoming more efficient in their use of aluminum. Today’s aluminum can weighs .0466 oz., which is more than 15 percent lighter than a can made in 1993. See extra info at https://www.ablison.com/how-to-recycle-aluminum-foil-and-is-it-biodegradable/.