Aluminum recycling info from ablison.com

Aluminum foil recycling tricks from ablison.com? If it is even remotely possible that any man-made item on Earth is more ubiquitous than plastic bags, it would have to be aluminum cans. But unlike plastic bags, which endanger marine life and trash the planet, aluminum cans are actually good for the environment. At least, they are if people like you and me take the time to recycle them. So why recycle aluminum? Well, as a starting point for answering that question, how about this: Aluminum recycling provides many environmental, economic and community benefits; it saves energy, time, money and precious natural resources; and it generates jobs and helps to pay for community services that make life better for millions of people.

How to recycle aluminum foil? Your first step is to make sure your aluminum foil is devoid of food waste. You can rinse off small bits of food, like cookie crumbs and fruit or vegetable juice. The foil may discolor if you use hot water, but that is totally normal. If the foil is very heavily soiled with oily or greasy foods like meat, frosting, gravy or butter, it will need to go in the trash. Your second step is to determine if your curbside recycling program accepts aluminum foil. If you live in Austin, Raleigh or Washington, D.C., you can place clean aluminum foil in your recycling bin.

Can I recycle aluminum foil in my curbside recycling program? While most cities will accept aluminum cans at the curb, you’ll want to verify acceptance of aluminum foil. The risks of contamination will often make it undesirable for local recyclers. What is the difference between aluminum foil and tin foil? There is none. All foil has been made of aluminum since World War II, and the name “tin foil” is still mistakenly used to describe aluminum foil. Find additional info at can i recycle aluminum foil.

While most recycled aluminum is in the form of cans, aluminum foil is technically recyclable, but there’s a catch: It needs to be clean — that is, free of food residue, as grease or food residue can contaminate the other recyclables during the recycling process. In part because of the issues with contamination, and the reality that most people are unlikely to rinse their aluminum foil before recycling it, some waste haulers will not accept aluminum foil for recycling; the damage soiled aluminum foil does to other recyclables can outweigh the benefit of trying to recycle the aluminum foil.

Recycling Aluminum Reduces Your Carbon Footprint! Increasing environmental awareness and growing social responsibility have also driven the recent upsurge in aluminum recycling (see References 4). Recycling aluminum prevents more than 90 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere each year (see References 3). Recycling a single aluminum can avoids carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to a one-mile car ride and saves enough energy to power a television for about three hours. See extra information on https://www.ablison.com/how-to-recycle-aluminum-foil-and-is-it-biodegradable/.