Is Aluminium Environmentally Friendly?

Is Aluminium Environmentally Friendly?

Rarely will you walk into a room and not find something made from or with aluminium. From tables and chairs to cans and coils, aluminium is one of the most common materials found in any home or business. Aluminium is also one of, if not the most, versatile metals on Earth. Being extremely strong and durable, the metal is also lightweight, non corrosive and can be recycled an infinite number of times. So, that leaves one question, is aluminium environmentally friendly?

A lot of people assume that metals aren’t environmentally friendly as they’re associated with big machines and mines and therefore have a negative impact on the environment. However, many metals are naturally occurring in the Earth and easily recyclable. Aluminium is among these metals that are actually environmentally friendly. The recyclable properties of aluminium have made it so that an estimated 75% of the near 100 billion tonnes of aluminium that has been used in the past 100 years is still in use today. This article will discuss more reasons why aluminium is environmentally friendly.

  • Recycling

Aluminium cans along with many other aluminium products are 100% recyclable and can be recycled over and over an infinite number of times. The cost to recycle aluminium is also a lot less than the cost to mine it. This is because recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy it takes to mine the same amount.

When you recycle aluminium, there is also no waste product. 100 kilograms of recycled aluminium cans is 100 kilograms of new aluminium. While disposing of aluminium scraps and objects can take years to decompose in landfill, recycling aluminium means that it can be remanufactured into another item for use, which is why there is such growing popularity toward the use of professional scrap metal recycling businesses like us.

The global production of aluminium in 2016 was 58.8 million metric tons, that’s a lot of aluminium that could be recycled and recirculated with a 1 to 1 ratio.

  • Long lasting

Another environmentally beneficial feature of aluminium made products is that they are durable and long lasting. Considering how often products are made from or encompass aluminium components, it’s no surprise that the metal is highly versatile and can endure extended periods of use.

A number of car companies produce car models with aluminium body panels along with front and back crumple pads. On average a car’s lifespan is 12 years with minor servicing and mechanical repairs, with the body panels often not being touched unless there has been an incident. This goes to show the durability, resilience to warping and flexing, and long lasting potential of aluminium.

  • Reduces the global carbon footprint

As aluminium is a permanently available resource, due to its ability to be recycled continuously, each time it passes through the recycling loop, carbon savings increase. The recycling process also uses 90% less energy than it does to extract and manufacture aluminium from raw materials. Considering the amount of aluminium in circulation and how many machines and objects use aluminium daily, these savings are huge in the short term and long term life of our planet.

Aluminium is here and it’s here to stay. From cars to fridges to street lights, aluminium is a necessary metal in modern society. So what do we do with aluminium once it’s served its purpose and is scraped away? Recycle it!

As leading scrap metal collection service in Perth today. Allied Metal Recyclers is ready to recycle your scrap aluminium work with you towards a more sustainable future. Contact us today to get a free quote!

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