Aluminum Facts & Statistics
General Information
The Aluminum Recycling Process
A resource provided by the Aluminum Association
News
News articles on aluminum beverage containers and aluminum recycling.
Statistical Data and Research
Searching for a quick statistic, graph or table?
Find it in the data archive.
Need more in-depth information about aluminum beverage container sales and recycling in any or all of the United States? Consider requesting a Beverage Market Data Analysis.
Aluminum recycling rates in Europe (2009) [pdf]
How CRI calculates U.S. aluminum can recycling rates
Aluminum Can Life Cycle Analysis
The Aluminum Association calls its 2010 study (undertaken by PE Americas) on the environmental footprint of the aluminum can "one of the most comprehensive life-cycle analyses (LCA) ever conducted by an industry group."
Learn More | Download Report [PDF, 1.4Mb]
Life Cycle Inventory of Soft Drinks in Glass, Aluminum, and PET
A 2009 study of glass, aluminum, and PET soft drink containers found PET bottles produced less solid waste, less greenhouse gas emission, and used less energy than the other two container types. The study covered production of the containers and end-of-life uses, but did not include data on post-fabrication transportation to the filling site, filling, distribution, storage, retail use and consumer use.
More info | Download report [pdf, 484kb]
Publications
Trashed Cans: the Global Environmental Impacts of Aluminum Can Wasting in America [PDF, 1.25MB]
This acclaimed 2002 CRI report details the history of aluminum can recycling and wasting in the United States and provides an excellent summary of the environmental damages from making aluminum all over the world.
Foiling the Aluminum Industry: A Toolkit for Communities, Activists, Consumers, and Workers
This report by International Rivers Network (August 2005) discusses the impact of the global aluminum industry and provides a broad set of references for readers and activists.
The Role of the Consumer in Reducing Primary Aluminum Demand
This report provides an introduction to the locales where dams and smelter projects are pending, and discusses the leading producers for aluminum and its precursor products, bauxite and alumina; trends in end-uses for aluminum; factors affecting scrap prices, and finally, the range of consumer and citizen actions that can be taken to reduce primary aluminum demand. [PDF, 1,455 Kb]
Issues
The Aluminum Can's Dirty Little Secret
More than half of the 100 billion cans sold in the U.S. in 2005 were landfilled or incinerated. A similar amount wasn’t recycled in other countries, for a global total of about 1.5 million tons of wasted cans. Learn about the environmental impacts of this wasting on the Aluminum Can's Dirty Little Secret web page.
The Trillionth Can
From 1972-2003, we threw away over one trillion aluminum cans--enough to reach around the earth 3048 times. Visit CRI's web page with more details on this shocking amount of waste.
Did you know?
The amount of energy wasted from the aluminum cans not recycled in 2006 would be sufficient to supply the total energy needs of 1.8 million American homes for a year!
