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- Aluminium is the third most abundant element found in the earth's crust, after oxygen and silicon.
- In 1998, over 60% of all drinks cans sold were made of aluminium.
- The aluminium can is the most recycled drinks package in the world.
- In 1989, only 2% of aluminium cans consumed in the UK were recycled.
- In 1998, 36% of all aluminium cans were recycled – that's 24.7 million tonnes, or 1.4 billion cans!
- If all of the aluminium cans recycled in the UK in 1998 were laid end to end they would stretch from Land's End to John O'Groats 160
times, with some to spare!
- In 1998, recyclers were paid nearly £10 million for the aluminium cans they collected.
- Over 4 billion aluminium drinks cans were sold in 1998 - if they were all collected for recycling, over £38 million would have been paid to collectors.
- Aluminium packaging accounts for 2% by weight, but 50% by value, of materials collected for recycling. It has the highest value of any
recyclable packaging material.
- There would be 12 million less full dustbins each year in the UK if all aluminium drinks cans were recycled!
- Aluminium cans cool quicker than any other drinks package, saving energy and refrigeration costs.
- Aluminium uses a lot of raw material – 5 tonnes of bauxite (aluminium ore) is needed to make one tonne of cans – and so
much electricity is needed that smelting plants (the factories that make new aluminium) need their own power plants.
- Recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the power needed to make aluminium from raw materials. In other words, 20 cans from recycled
aluminium use the same power as just 1 can made from new aluminium!
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