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KA-CHING! The sound of sweet, sweet money flowing through our palms. That’s what you’ll hear after reading about Aluminum Can Recycling.
However, sometimes that paycheck is just not enough to buy that one expensive pair of shoes that are going to be in the cupboard for a long time. You’ve tried two jobs, gambling, schemes and hell, even the lottery. Nothing worked. Sorry to say this, folks, but your anchor to extra money was in your dumpster all along.
Contents
Recycling- An Open ATM
The secret is recycling. Yes, you read that right. No, we aren’t kidding. Recycling is the process of converting a used object into another form using eco-friendly methods. Although recycling is an age-old method, it only gained popularity in the ’90s.
Whether it was people becoming environmentally conscious or just trying to embrace a new fad, humans found a way to do something for the environment and, at the same time, earn that extra dollar.
Although recycling covers many materials like glass, paper, E-waste, batteries, etc. we are going to focus on aluminum correctly can recycling. (Just a fancy word for earning money through that used can of cola). Many people have ended up making recycling a career. Starting with the simple things, they moved up the ladder with recycling everything that they could find.
What’s the deal with aluminum?
Aluminum, the third most abundant element on earth after silicon and oxygen. Since its discovery, aluminum has become an indispensable commodity. Since early ages, aluminum has been consumed and transformed in many forms. It especially played an important role in the wartime.
In the modern age, it becomes difficult to imagine the day going by and not encountering aluminum in any form. With extensive use in the market in all spheres, including the beverage industry, jewelry, construction, and even satellites, aluminum finds an important place in our everyday life.
Your average beer, Cola or Dr. Pepper can is made entirely of aluminum. But here is where it gets interesting. The can is made from about 50% new aluminum and 50% recycled aluminum! See the power of aluminum can recycling?
The Science Behind Aluminum Can Recycling
So how does that can actually get recycled? Let us find out. Well, the process isn’t rocket science. First, we separate the cans from other waste. After that, we clean the cans using pressure water and other chemicals. Moving on, we melt the cans form blocks with them. These blocks are called ingots. These blocks are then sent to the factory to be processed and finally formed into new cans.
Melting the cans actually takes only 5% of the energy that is consumed in making the new aluminum from bauxite. Aluminum can recycling takes the cake environmentally! Brazil recycles 98.2% of its aluminum can production, equivalent to 14.7 billion beverage cans per year, ranking first in the world, more than Japan’s 82.5% recovery rate. Brazil has topped the aluminum can recycling charts eight years in a row.
Your Turn To Take Advantage
Most of you are thinking at this point, okay we get it, aluminum can recycling is a good practice but HOW TO MAKE $$$ FROM ALUMINUM RECYCLING? Well, the wait is over. The first thing that you have to do is actually start collecting the cans. The good thing about aluminum cans is that it is readily available and has a vast consumption base. The cans may come from your own household, friends, family.
You can also go to local shops, construction sites, or anywhere where the consumption of canned beverages is high. You can also make tie-ups with local schools and community colleges because no one consumes more canned beverages than students!
Another great place is events like concerts, festivals. You can also push offices, organizations to actually provide you with the used aluminum cans instead of throwing them away. Before collection, take care of the fact that you should have enough space to store the collected cans. Otherwise, collect in a limited amount initially.
Next, is taking the cans to someone who can actually do aluminum can recycling. This step is a little tedious and needs concentration. There are many websites like recyclingcenters.org, which actually help you to find a recycling center near you. Other resources are your regular yellow pages book and nothing that a Google search can’t solve. Now comes the fun part.
How Much Money Will You Make?
The money. Here is where you need to be careful. Due to the large recycling market, there are certain things that you need to look out for. The first one is to find out the aluminum price per pound. The price per pound is set on the basis of the transaction between the trader and the buyer. After considering various exchanges, the price is finally set.
Another factor that counts is whether the aluminum is an export or import product and how much of it will be exported and imported. The price changes by the minute, and it is very important to check the price before you go to sell your cans.
At the time of writing this article, the price per pound is 80 cents/ pound. There are roughly 32 to 33 cans in a pound. Some fast math and you’re fetching upwards of 25 dollars with a single pound! It is very easy to make more than 500 dollars every two weeks if you work hard enough. Be sure that you check the correct prices online so that your recycling center does not short change you.
Scope of Aluminum Recycling
The price of aluminum is much lesser than that of other metals like copper, nickel, and zinc because of its abundance. After becoming proficient in the aluminum can recycling you can move to other metals as well. One other thing that you’ve got to look out for is ‘Bottle Bills.’ Several US states have bottle deposits laws on the books, also known as Bottle Bills. These states require minimum pay-outs on recycled cans and bottles.
Hence, aluminum can recycling becomes much more lucrative in these states. Few of the states that actually have bottle bill recycling are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, NewYork, Oregon, Vermont, Guam.
Thus, you can disregard aluminum prices in these states. Certain reports also state that the percentage o recycling is much higher in these states than in other states. After depositing the cans, you’re finally rich and can buy that expensive pair of shoes. KA-CHING!
Environmental Impacts and Facts
Interestingly most of the aluminum recycling plants are on the eastern side of the union. Aluminum can recycling plants are not only a big corporation, but they can also be your local scrap dealer. Also, take inputs from the various people who are already doing aluminum can recycling.
Make sure your research is proper in terms of searching the apt place to sell these cans. Searching for keywords like, ‘aluminum can recycling near me’ is a great option. These are the few big companies in the respective states where aluminum can recycling is really flourishing:
- U.S 20 Metal Recycling LLC [Ohio]
- EMR – Liberty (Liberty Metal Recycling) [Texas]
- Top Metal Recycling [Missouri]
- USA scrap Metal & Recycling [Miami]
- US METAL RECYCLING CORP [Tennessee]
- Advantage Metals Recycling LLC [Kansas]
- SA Recycling [Alabama]
- SA Recycling [Georgia]
The interesting fact is that almost half of the aluminum cans in the world are already recycled. That is more than 105 million cans per year. The sad part is that globally more than 7 billion aluminum cans are produced and consumed every year, and out of that, such a small percentage of cans are recycled.
The Takeaways
One hundred five million cans have enough aluminum to make more than 70,000 Boeing 737 planes. Another positive impact of aluminum can recycle is that you help in avoiding the mining process. Mining is not only hazardous to the miners, but it is one of the biggest imparters of environmental degradation.
Other positive impacts include the save in the consumption of energy while making these cans. Also, our landfills are prevented from filling up if the aluminum cans are recycled. Many people also invest in aluminum art, building benches, homes for the homeless, and various structures that contribute to city art. The environmental impact is less, and the economic factors make aluminum can recycling an excellent and lucrative side hustle.
The best fact is that aluminum never loses its qualities, and hence it can be recycled forever. So, next time when you sip that cola remembers that you can earn so much more from that can than just the taste. What are you waiting for? START COLLECTING THOSE CANS!
FAQ
Why is it important to recycle?
Recycling waste items can reduce a lot of harm to our environment as most of the waste piles up, leading to landfills which causes more harm to our environment.
How much money do aluminium recycling centers make?
The centers in states with beverage deposit laws earn about $0.05-$0.10 per can. In states with no such law, they can earn about $0.015 per can.
Why is aluminium so recyclable?
Aluminum is the least alloyed compared to other metals, and as this is very readily available in cans, etc. Their structure is unique, due to which they can be recycled very easily.
