Why does recycling aluminum save energy

Recycling is good for our environment, our communities, and our economy. Visit America Recycles website at www. A: In a broad sense, recycling is part of an ethic of resource efficiency — of using products to their fullest potential. When a recycled material, rather than a raw material, is used to make a new product, natural resources and energy are conserved.

This is because recycled materials have already been refined and processed once; manufacturing the second time is much cleaner and less energy-intensive than the first. For example, manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95 percent less energy than creating the same amount of aluminum with bauxite. Investments in recycling collection support a strong and diverse recycling manufacturing industry, which brings jobs and high wages to states and localities.

The collection of recyclable materials is the first - the most critical link in a chain of economic activity. Investment in local collection infrastructure pays great dividends in supporting significant downstream recycling economic activity. Importantly, many of these recycling manufacturers rely on a steady and consistent supply of recyclable materials generated from recycling programs.

The National Recycling Coalition reports that the recycling industry in California is both diverse and significant. In California, for every job in recycling collection there are eight jobs created through manufacturing the recovered material into a new product. A: It conserves energy, reduces air and water pollution, reduces greenhouse gases, and conserves natural resources. The results are cleaner air and water, less pollution, more forested land and open space, and reduced greenhouse gases.

Everyone knows recycling means less trash going to our landfills but the greatest environmental benefit of recycling is the conservation of energy and natural resources and the prevention of pollution that is generated when a raw material is used to make a new product. The paper, glass, metals, plastic, and organic material Stanford recycled in saved a total of about 70, million BTUs of energy; enough energy to power nearly homes for one year.

Or said another way, conserved 12, barrels of oil or , gallons of gasoline. Producing products using recovered rather than raw materials uses significantly less energy which results in less burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

By reducing air and water pollution and saving energy, recycling offers an important environmental benefit: it reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, that contribute to global climate change. By recycling over tons of paper last year, Stanford saved 32, trees. Stanford reduced the need for tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone by recycling over tons of ferrous scrap metal.

By using recycled materials instead of trees, metal ores, minerals, oil and other raw materials harvested from the earth, recycling-based manufacturing conserves the world's scarce natural resources. This conservation reduces pressure to expand forests cutting and mining operations. In , Americans generated about million tons of trash and recycled On average, we recycled and composted 1. The state of the economy has a strong impact on consumption and waste generation.

Waste generation increases during times of strong economic growth and decreases during times of economic decline. If you look at the big picture of what it takes to create a product from scratch -- to get the raw materials, transport them, process them and manufacture them -- making goods with recycled material like paper, plastic, glass, and metal is a major energy saver.

Seattle economist Jeffrey Morris estimated that manufacturing one ton of office and computer paper with recycled paper stock can save nearly 3, kilowatt hours over the same ton of paper made with virgin wood products. A ton of soda cans made with recycled aluminum saves an amazing 21, kilowatt hours by reducing the virgin bauxite bozite ore that would have to be mined, shipped, and refined. The San Diego County Office of Education has figured out that recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a watt light bulb for four hours.

The Steel Recycling Institute has found that steel recycling saves enough energy to electrically power the equilvalent of 18 million homes for a year. With all the energy that is saved when we recycle bottles and cans and paper, we should all recycle and buy recycled more often!

A: The amount of lost energy from throwing away recyclable commodities such as aluminum cans and newspapers is equivalent to the annual output of 15 power plants. For many commonly recycled products, the energy savings also help to make recycling cheaper than extracting and processing raw resources. However, many other costs may also play important roles in the economics of recycling.

Geological Survey 4 U. Skip to main content. PDF version. Glass is made by melting sand and other minerals at very high temperatures. The molten mixture is then cooled to form glass.

In This month This week Today. Put this counter on your website. Shop Thousands of Verified Sustainable Products. Visit the Arbor Marketplace. Shop Products. Find ethical companies when you are browsing. See more here. Advantages of recycling aluminium There are many advantages of recycling aluminium. Recycling aluminium saves a lot of energy!

Mining avoided Recycling of aluminium cans not only saves energy. It never wears out Aluminium can be recycled forever - without losing any of its qualities.