Aluminum Facts

• There are 29 cans per pound of aluminum, up from 22 in 1972.
• 99% of all beer cans and 97% of all soft drink cans are made of aluminum.
• The average aluminum can in the U.S. contains 40% post-consumer recycled aluminum.
• It requires only 5% as much energy when a can is made of recycled aluminum as compared to virgin ore!
• American consumers and industry throw away enough aluminum to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial air fleet every 3 months.
• In 1994, 3.1 million tons of aluminum waste was generated: aluminum containers and packaging, such as soft drink and beer cans, contributed 2.1 million tons.
• Aluminum made up 1.5% of the total municipal solid waste stream generated in the U.S. in 1994.
• Approximately 65.5% of aluminum containers were recycled in the U.S. in 1994. The overall rate for aluminum packaging was 55.0%.
• Most aluminum recovered from the waste stream is used to manufacture new cans.
• The lifespan of an aluminum can is 6 weeks on average: that means that the time it takes for a beverage can to be manufactured, filled, sold, recycled and remanufactured is 6 weeks on average.

Content on this page provided by Second Time Around - EPA Region 5 and Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University.