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Pollution:
1 ton of cans produces 5 tons of caustic waste

Each ton of aluminum cans requires 5 tons of bauxite ore to be strip-mined, crushed, washed, and refined into alumina before it is smelted, creating about 5 tons of caustic red mud residue which can seep into surface and groundwater. People and animals have suffered from the effects of bauxite mining in Jamaica, Brazil, Australia, and other tropical areas, she noted.

Corrosive mud, like this lake, a byproduct of alumina refining in Jamaica, causes permanent harm to the ecosystem as well as a number of diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and cancer, in humans.  Courtesy of Jamaica Bauxite Environmental Organization.

Energy consumption:
3% of the world's electricity goes into making aluminum cans.

While aluminum companies often cite tremendous savings from recycling aluminum, they fail to mention that at current wasting levels, about 23 billion kilowatt-hours are squandered globally each year through ‘replacement production.’ About 7 kWh are saved per pound (33 cans) recycled. Had the 50 billion trashed cans been recycled, the electricity saved could power 1.3 million American homes.  In total, the industry’s annual electricity consumption is almost 300 billion kilowatt-hours, or about 3% of the world’s total electricity consumption.

Environmental destruction:
Hydroelectric plants for aluminum production ruin habitats and lives.

According to the International Aluminum Institute, about a third of the primary aluminum produced worldwide uses coal-generated electricity, 10% relies on oil and natural gas-fired electricity generation, 5% is nuclear powered, and about half uses hydroelectricity (dams). These dams flood vast tracts of land in some places and desiccate it in others, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem, threatening biodiversity, and forcing thousands of humans to leave their homes.

Iceland is one place that has suffered environmental harm due to the aluminum industry.  Dams used to produce the electricity needed for aluminum production can turn beautiful gorges like these...

...Into lakes like this, destroying priceless natural habitats in the process.

From Iceland Nature Conservation Association (www.inca.is)

Climate Change:
Aluminum smelters release greenhouse gases and toxic emissions

About 95 million tons of greenhouse gases were produced by the global aluminum industry in 2005. Primary aluminum smelting also generates sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, which are contributors to smog and acid rain. In 2005, 50.7 billion U.S. cans were wasted, resulting in the emission of 75,000 tons of SOx and NOx.