Aluminum cans are arguably the best material to recycle:

  • It takes only 5% of the energy to make a new can from recycled aluminum as it does to make the can from virgin aluminum (other materials take 40-70% as much energy).
  • It is made back into the same item that was recycled (not “downcycled” into a different, one-and-done product).
  • It is endlessly recyclable (like steel and glass; unlike paper and plastic).
    FUN FACT –  75 percent of all aluminum produced (not just from cans) is still in circulation.
  • It takes only two months to go from your recycling bin back onto the store shelf!

This counter represents the number of beverage cans and bottles that have been landfilled, littered and incinerated in the US so far this year.