About drink can recycling
Every Can Counts aims to make it easier to recycle your drink cans and make a difference.
A partnership between drink can manufacturers, the recycling industry and leading waste management companies, the aim is to encourage you to recycle more by providing the facilities to recycle cans whilst you're at work, college or out and about.
Aluminium and steel - the materials used to make drink cans - are infinitely recyclable. This means they can be melted down and endlessly reused with absolutely no loss of quality, in what's known as 'closed loop' recycling.
We all know that recycling makes sense. It saves energy and natural resources. And by using resources in a more sustainable way, we can help reduce our impact on the world.
About Aluminium
As one of the most important and versatile metals there is, Aluminium is found in rocks, soil, vegetation, water and even the air. And there are lots of reason why Aluminium is so useful, including:-
- It is lightweight yet very strong
- It does not rust or corrode
- It can be easily cast, moulded, extruded and rolled
- It can be painted, laminated or engraved
- It is a good conductor of heat and electricity
- It can be recycled again and again with no loss of quality
Aluminium in use
From building to transport and beyond, Aluminium is used for so many things such as:-
- Greenhouses, skyscrapers, cladding, window frame, furniture, wiring and lighting
- Trains, planes, cars, bikes, scooters, wheelchairs, walking frames
- Medicines, toiletries, packaging, fire-retardant clothing, thermal recovery blankets
And of course, Aluminium is used in food packaging - especially to make drink cans!
About steel
Steel is one of the most common packaging materials and is the most recycled packaging material in Europe. Because it sticks to a magnet it is easy to separate from other materials.
Scrap steel is an essential part of the steel production process, and all new steel products contain up to 57% recycled steel.
Using recycled steel cuts down on the use of raw materials, creates energy savings and cuts emissions.
Steel in use
Products made of steel can be recycled to make new products again and again, with no loss of quality. Your recycled steel drink can could end up in one of thousands of steel products, such as bikes, cars, bridges, paper clips and packaging – or even another drink can!
