Forum Topic

Aluminium Recycling

Here's a reminder: aluminum is a highly recyclable material that can be recycled many times over without losing quality. The world is very close to the point where mining it will no longer be required because we recycle enough. So, whenever you see any aluminium cans lying about please pick it up and recycle in your recycling bin. Also, aluminium gets the council more money than anything else. There's lots of it in the scrub and bushes in Dukes Meadows so anyone please help collect it.  Thank you.

James Petri ● 52d8 Comments

With the all the different types of stuff we buy or are given and inherit or find - it can take an awful lot of sorting!Did you know that there are actually pans for life?Www.recyclenow.com - a govt funded organisation - has been updated since I last looked at it.  It does still depend on what your Council's contractors will take off them as per their contracts though and whether operatives are well informed on that.

Philippa Bond ● 44d

Interesting about aluminium. I was at a council tip recently and was about to put some aluminium pans in with the scrap metal. One of the staff stopped me and told me to put them in a trolley nearby - the message must be getting across.

Mark Evans ● 45d

https://everycancounts.co.uk/to-crush-or-not-to-crush-drink-cans-for-recycling/#:~:text=You%20do%20not%20have%20to,is%20equally%20recyclable%20either%20way!

Philippa Bond ● 48d

There are or have been health scares about just about everything.  I changed to a stainless steel pressure cooker from an aluminium one at the time.  Non-stick coatings on pans has been another worry.  There are a lot of food additives in some foods and some where you wouldn't expect them and aluminium silicate I think was one that was in the press.Back to the aluminium cans:There seems to have been controversy because as I understand it you don't need to squash them at all or flatten them completely as they can still be recycled.  However to stop them flying off and rolling fast down the road making them hard to catch does take a bit of redesign of their shape.  I've always been told NOT to tie in bags to put in a green box or wheelie bin as that means operatives have to open them which they may not have time to do.  No doubt someone will question that!  Methods of sorting will always be adjusting to new equipment and systems!

Philippa Bond ● 48d

Thought they stop using alumina in food containers and cookware.

Janice Evans ● 51d

I used to squash them to make more space in my recycling crate but then read they do not want them squashed

david ward ● 51d

It's extremely recyclable - it is much less energy intensive to recycle than other metals, it is light to transport and easy to bale so costs less to transport.  Over 75% is still in the market.  It's easy to just crush cans a bit out of shape to stop rolling and blowing away in the breeze.  Putting empty ones into a recycling bin rather than a litter or other bin will speed up this circular process.

Philippa Bond ● 51d

Totally agree with your sentiment there James though the amount of aluminium in modern day cans is negligible. Indeed, some have a steel outer to stiffen them.Looking forward to graphene becoming thing.

Mark Frost ● 52d