Commodity OnlineNEW YORK : The US Aluminum Association came up with a noble cause. It wants to promote recycling of the aluminium cans and set an ambitious target of recycling at least three quarters of all aluminium drinks cans sold in the US by 2015.
But they had very little idea how the aluminium prices would fall. The trend of falling prices is leading experts to believe that virgin aluminium will be much cheaper to produce a can than a recycled.
But aluminum still remains one of the most cost-effective materials to recycle. If recycled without mixing with any other materials the can/lid combination is perfect for producing new stock for the main part of the can — the loss of magnesium during melting is made up for by the high magnesium content of the lid. Also refining ores such as bauxite into aluminum requires large amounts of electricity, making recycling cheaper than smelting.
An empty aluminum weighs approximately a half-ounce (15 g). Though 54 per cent of all aluminium containers are recycled another 50 billion plus cans end up in landfill each year.
And hence the US Aluminum Association believes recycling rates would cut not only carbon emissions but even be cost efficient strategy.
However the plunging aluminium prices are forcing major companies to cut down its production. The president and CEO of aluminium manufacturer Novelis Inc, is of the opinion that recycling at any cost is not only valuable, from both an economic and environmental point of view but even on a long term perspective.
Awareness, he said, is the key to have wider adoption of deposit initiatives that reward recyclers, undertake research on the effectiveness of mandatory recycling programmes and seek to highlight the role metal recycling can play in climate change policies.
