Aluminium cans are a valuable material to recycle because of the large amount of energy and resources used in the initial manufacturing.
In Australia around 1 billion of these cans still end up in landfill each year instead of being recycled. That’s around $15 million worth.
Each single can we recycle saves enough electricity to run a TV for 3 hours. Recycling one kilogram of cans saves 20kg of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
Worth Knowing
Whatever you do, don’t put cans in the rubbish. Just save them up somewhere out of the way for recycling (if you prefer, you can crush them to save space, it is a great stress reliever!)
Our recommendation is to think local – many schools and community organisations such as Scouts groups collect cans as a form of fundraising.
Most residential kerbside collections will gladly accept aluminium cans. Some scrap metal dealers will also take aluminium cans although they tend to only offer payment for larger amounts. The Yellow Pages can help you find someone close to you.
For more information contact the
Recycle @ Work Hotline on 1800 819 000.
