Recycle one aluminum can
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Description
Recycling an aluminum can is a simple action that produces substantial results. A very large amount of energy and materials are required to produce aluminum from bauxite. 9000 pounds of bauxite, 1,020 pounds fuel are required to create one ton of aluminum. Energy requirements are reduced by 90% and raw material requirements by 95% when recycled aluminum is used.
Sources: Heloise. Heloise: Hints for a Healthy Planet, p. 56; 101 Ways to Save Money and Save Our Planet, p. 122.
Tags
- aluminum
- cans
- metal
- recyclables
- recycle
- recyclemania
Assumptions We Made
We assume that you will recycle approximately 4 cans a week, or 210 cans a year.
We assumed that the can is 12 fluid ounces. The calculations are based on the EPA’s iWARM model which calculates how much energy is saved when items are recycled instead of placed in a landfill. The energy is expressed in terms of the electricity that could be produced by the fuel saved in the production process. CO2 calculations subsequently are calculated based on a conversion from www.carbonfund.org where 1.297 lbs CO2 are generated when 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity is produced.
The model also assumes that a 100% recycled product replaces a product made of 100% virgin materials. This is typically not the case as the product is usually composed of virgin materials mixed with recycled materials.
For more information, please visit the EPA’s iWARM model page: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/tools/iwarm/index.htm
Impacts
Initial Impacts
Each time you carry out this action, the immediate impacts are:
- Saves 0.39 lbs of CO2
Ongoing Impacts
Some actions also have additional impact over time. For this action, these are:
- Unknown
Potential Annual Impact
We assume that this action will be carried out daily (about 210 times a year). In this case, in a year you could save:- 81.69 lbs of CO2
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