US alu-can recycling rate hits a peak

USA – The US aluminium beverage can recycling rate reached its highest level in a decade last year when 58.1% or nearly 56 billion were recycled, saving the energy equivalent of 17 million barrels of crude oil or nearly two days’ worth of all US oil imports, according to latest information released by the Aluminum Association, the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).

They add that aluminium cans boast the highest recycling rate of all beverage packages and also the greatest recycled content at 68%.
‘This is a boost for our industry and further evidence that the aluminum beverage can is the best environmental and sustainability packaging option,’ concludes Steve Larkin, President of the Aluminum Association. ‘Of course, we must do more at the federal, state and local levels to enact recycling policies and awareness, and this is a task we continue to pursue aggressively. We continue to look for partners who are also sincere about making a real change in how we approach recycling in the US today.’
ISRI President Robin Wiener adds: ‘As the first link in the manufacturing supply chain, the scrap recycling industry provides vital feedstock material sought after by industrial customers around the world, including more than 4.6 million metric tonnes of aluminum scrap processed in the United States and shipped throughout the United States and more than 50 countries in 2010.’ 
In 2008, the Aluminum Association adopted a goal of recycling 75% of aluminium cans by the year 2015. The recycling rate at that time was 54.2%, rising to 57.4% the following year.