Recycling – Reasons To Recycle Metal Cans
Each and every year thousands upon thousands of tons of trash is thrown into landfills. While we are in no danger of running short on landfill space, this is expensive in terms of time, space, and energy invested, as well as the sheer waste of materials that will not ever be used again. With that in mind, consider these reasons to keep your aluminum and steel cans out of the landfill by recycling them instead.
1. Aluminum which has been recycled is used for new projects within a couple of months. On the other hand, it would take over 200 years for that metal to break down naturally in a landfill.
2. Recycled steel and aluminum are no different in composition from ‘new’ aluminum and steel. Recycled metals are simply melted down and mixed into lots to make new products, which can then be recycled again when they are finished being used.
3. Metal cans can be recycled for cash at many places. Several states offer five cents per can recycled, and some recycling centers pay anywhere between a dollar and two dollars per pound of cans recycled.
4. Recycling is not just about material savings, but also about energy consciousness. Every aluminum can which is recycled saves enough energy to run a tv for 3 hours; one pound of cans recycled will save enough energy to run it for four days!
5. The 100,000,000 ‘new’ steel cans made on a daily basis contain 25% recycled materials. That equates to 25 million reclaimed cans versus 75 million completely new cans. If more people recycled, that number could easily jump to 50-50 and a great deal of resources and energy would be saved.
6. There are can crushing machines available that can be used to make the job easier, including some that can be made at home for almost no cost. Therefore, it is no excuse to say that recycling cans takes up too much space.
This article has been provided by Can Crusher, a site dedicated to information on crushing cans and recycling.
