Cans, foil, and other items such as trays are made out of aluminium. In North America one of the major product being recycled is aluminium. Though Americans recycle about 65-70% of the aluminium used in their household, thousands of tons of this is discarded each year.

When thinking of recycling aluminium, the image that comes to mind is of cans. But the fact is that any household item made of aluminium, like lawn furniture can be recycled. The local recycling depot can clarify any doubt whether an aluminium item is recyclable or not.

It is interesting to know the process that the aluminium has to go through before it can be reused. There is a large processing plant that deals with scrap. The various recycling plant send their collection to this plant.

Once at the processing plant the aluminum must be sorted and then condensed into slabs. You may be wondering what happens to the labels on pop cans or other types of coating. This is all dealt with at the aluminum company, which is where the slabs are sent to next.

The aluminum company shreds and crushes the slabs. All the labels and coatings are removed at this point. New aluminum is added to the recycled, and they are melted together. Most aluminum that we buy contains about 50% recycled product.

Once it has been melted the aluminum can be made into any shape necessary. Of course, the process will differ slightly depending on the type of product that is being being made. Aluminum recycling sounds easy doesn't it?

As aluminum is the most common metal on the planet, why do we bother recycling it? We aren't going to run out of it for eons, but using new product is actually more energy consuming. Another issue is the waste factor.

People living in North America waste a huge number of products every year. All this waste ends up in landfills and we are running out of room to establish more of them. Not only that, but waste harms all animal and plant life living in the landfill sites.

To get more people to recycle aluminum, companies might consider deposits. When we buy a can, we usually are paying a deposit built into its price. If we want that deposit back, we must return the can. It then enters the cycle of going to a recycling center and then on to be processed.

Recycling benefits everyone. It not only cuts down on our waste and saves energy, but it also creates jobs and is good for communities. While most people do their part to recycle and help the environment, many don't, and are still throwing away their aluminum cans and other recyclable products.

You can be the first in your area to form an environmental group that wants to start a recycling program. You will most likely find that both individuals and businesses will want to join you.