Have you ever wondered where aluminum cans come from? Well, if you studied your periodic table in high school, you know aluminum is an element; however, it is rarely found in this form. Instead, it is "stuck" inside bauxite ore that has to be mined and processed extensively before it is suitable for making things like soda cans. Most bauxite ore is found in tropical climates in countries such as Australia, Guinea, Jamaica and Brazil, and must be shipped many miles for processing.
Bauxite mining requires a lot of land and is also extremely energy intensive. Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy needed to extract and process the bauxite into aluminum. According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, products manufactured from recycled material require less energy than using virgin resources. Lower consumption results in fewer GHG emissions, which are considered the primary cause of climate change. If we had recycled those cans, we could have 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution.
According to the California Department of Conservation, California consumes 657 million barrels of oil and emits 492 million metric tons of greenhouse gas annually. By recycling nearly 7 billion beverage containers from January-June, 2007, Californians saved the equivalent of 2.5 million barrels of oil and reduced emissions equivalent to 293,000 metric tons of carbon related to greenhouse house gas. This is equivalent to removing 230,000 passenger cars from the roadways for a year.
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough electricity to power a TV for three hours or a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. And the energy saved from recycling one ton of aluminum is equal to the amount of electricity used by an average home over 10 years or could fuel a car that gets 35 miles per gallon for 82,250 miles? (http://www.recycle.novelis.com)
Please recycle aluminum cans in your curbside container, or take them to the Recycling Center at 333 Shoreway Road in San Carlos to collect the CRV deposit - 5 ¢ for containers under 24 oz).
