Aluminum recycling is in the news because of a break-up.
Together, Alcoa and Novelis (owned by HindalCo, an Indian firm)
had been collecting and recycling cans–40 billion last year. But
no more. Now, competing for used cans, each firm will do it
alone. Should business firms recycle aluminum? It depends. Every
2 or 3 months, a recycled aluminum can might be recycled again.
Used and empty, cans could be collected by someone who receives
55 cents a pound (approximately 25 cans) and takes them to a
scrapyard that crushes, scrapes, and bales them (sort of like a
hay bale, but made of cans). Melted and rolled at Alcoa or
Novelis or another aluminum producer, the can becomes a part of
an aluminum sheet. Next stop? The sheets are deposited at a can
producer who prepares them for the beverage firm. Filled with
beer or soda or juice, the can is sold and the cycle starts all
over again. Producing cans from recycled materials requires a
lot less energy than making aluminum from scratch and
municipalities that recycle can