What is Aluminium?
Aluminium is made from an ore called Bauxite, which is mined from the earth. Bauxite is converted into alumina, a fine white powder. This powder is then smelted at over 700°C, to become aluminium. The process is expensive and uses lots of resources including energy and fuel.

• It takes five tonnes of bauxite (aluminium ore) to make one tonne of cans.
• Australia produces over one and a half million tonnes of aluminium every year, which is about 6% of world production.
  
  What happens to the aluminium cans we put out for recycling?
  
  Step 1 - Separation
  Trucks take the recycling to a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) where it is pushed on to a conveyor belt. Aluminium is a metal that doesn't contain iron, so it isn't magnetic. An 'eddy current' is used to induce a magnetic effect in the cans and then they are magnetically lifted from the other recycling.
  
  Step 2 - Baling
  The cans are squashed into big blocks called bales and transported to processing plants where they are fed into furnaces.
  
  Step 3 - Melting
  Heating the aluminium to a temperature of 700°C changes it into a liquid state. It is then cast into ingots, ready for delivery to rolling mills where they are milled and remade into new products.
  
  Aluminium facts
  • All aluminium cans are 100% recyclable - they can be recycled into cans and/or products such as car parts.
  • Recycling aluminium saves heaps of energy because making aluminium cans from recycled material requires less than 5% of the energy used to make aluminium cans from bauxite.
  • Recycling aluminium saves millions of tonnes of greenhouse gasses, tonnes of coal which would be needed to generate the electricity and less fuel to transport the various materials around the countryside.
  • A recycled can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.
  • Making one tonne of aluminium from recycled cans saves five tonnes of Bauxite.
  • Once an aluminium can is recycled, it's back on the grocery shelf as a new aluminium can in 60 days.
  • Aluminium cans have been recycled in Australia for many years, and we are 5th in the world, recycling 70% of our cans, nearly two billion cans a year!
    
    Recycling Tips - Sort it, check it, keep it clean
    • Make sure your aluminium cans are rinsed and empty.
    • Don't put aluminium cans inside one another or inside other containers.
    • If your containers' recycling is separated from your paper/cardboard recycling make sure the aluminium cans go in with the containers.
    • Other aluminium household items that are being discarded, such as cookware and building materials, can be taken to the nearest waste and recycling centre for recycling.
    Contact your local council for details on local collections and facilities.
    
    Australian Aluminium Recycling
    In 2005, 35.8 thousand tonnes of used aluminium cans were collected across Australia - that's 244.3 million cans!
    
    Close the Loop and Buy It Back!
    There's no point in recycling if we don't buy back the products made from recycled materials. As consumers we can have a great influence on the kinds of products made available to us, by changing our shopping habits and choosing more environmentally-friendly products.
    
    The next time you go shopping, whether it's for home or school or play, remember that aluminium cans do have recycled content, and are being recycled every day. So you're doing more for the environment by putting your aluminium cans in the recycling bin, and by purchasing products in aluminium cans.
    Look for other products which are either made from recycled material or can be recycled, and if in doubt, don't be afraid to check with the manufacturers.
    
    
    Sources:
    Australian Aluminium Council
    
    The Aluminium Can Group
    
    NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change
    
    Visy Industries