environment
Recycling Aluminium Foil
As consumers become more and more attuned to the ecological impact of the products they buy, aluminium continues to set itself apart as one of the world's most sustainable materials.
4 February, 2016
Aluminium bottles and cans, used to deliver and conserve everything from soda to sparkling water, are easily and widely recycled–and with good reason.
Once emptied of their contents, these containers can be entirely re-melted and reused with just 5% of the energy needed to produce aluminium from scratch. It only takes six weeks for a used beverage can to go through the recycling process and find its way back onto the shelf, and this process can be repeated infinitely. While aluminium cans and bottles are easily recycled, environmentally conscious consumers have a much harder time properly disposing of their used aluminium foil. Since it is made out of the same material, shouldn't foil be just as recyclable?
Unfortunately, handling used aluminium foil is a bit more complicated than putting a used can in the recycling bin. While clean foil is as recyclable as cans, used foil very often isn't clean. Many recycling facilities are forced to reject foil that has been soiled with food, for fear that it will contaminate their batches of recycled aluminium. To avoid this, consumers can clean off their used aluminium foil to remove food waste or even cut around those parts that cannot be cleaned.
The same restrictions apply to other products made out of aluminium, such as disposable pie plates and trays. A final important point is determining whether packaging is made out of recyclable foil or non-recyclable plastic film (as with packaging for bags of chips or crisps). To determine whether an item is foil, a "scrunch test" will be enough to settle the matter—scrunched foil will remain scrunched, but plastic will spring back into its original shape.
The same restrictions apply to other products made out of aluminium, such as disposable pie plates and trays. A final important point is determining whether packaging is made out of recyclable foil or non-recyclable plastic film (as with packaging for bags of chips or crisps). To determine whether an item is foil, a "scrunch test" will be enough to settle the matter—scrunched foil will remain scrunched, but plastic will spring back into its original shape.
Nonetheless, it is still worth it to save as much foil as possible from the landfill. Aluminium takes 500 years to break down naturally, but aluminium that is properly recycled can be used and re-used countless times in that same span of time. In the short span of time that aluminium has been widely available, it has already demonstrated its capacity for continuous use; 75% of all the aluminium produced worldwide since the 1880s is still in use today.
Fortunately, recycling organizations are reporting increases in their capacity to handle aluminium foil and in consumer willingness to recycle their used foil alongside other aluminium products. In the United Kingdom, the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) reports that 86% of U.K. councils are now collecting aluminium foil for recycling and 96% are now collecting aerosol cans (which can also be difficult to recycle). This marks a major expansion since 2007, when only 35% of U.K. councils had the capacity to recycle foil.
Photo by We Buy Scrap.
Fortunately, recycling organizations are reporting increases in their capacity to handle aluminium foil and in consumer willingness to recycle their used foil alongside other aluminium products. In the United Kingdom, the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) reports that 86% of U.K. councils are now collecting aluminium foil for recycling and 96% are now collecting aerosol cans (which can also be difficult to recycle). This marks a major expansion since 2007, when only 35% of U.K. councils had the capacity to recycle foil.
Photo by We Buy Scrap.
Alupro provides local authorities with free materials to explain how to recycle empty aerosols, household foil and foil containers. We have also worked with councils and their service providers to dispel some of the myths about these materials being 'difficult' to recycle. We're delighted to see how well councils have responded to this clear messaging, which has enabled more aluminium packaging to be recycled than ever before.
Rick Hindley
Executive Director, Alupro
The general availability of foil recycling facilities also entails a change in how British packaging labels will be used. Aluminium foil is now eligible for "Widely Recycled" status, which the On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) will be adding to its 2016 package guidelines.
According to Jane Bevis, chair of OPRL, 7 of 10 consumers follow the recyclability guidelines included on packaging and 500 brands are already using OPRL's labels. Up until now, labeling on aluminium foil had asked recyclers to check their local capacity for recycling; with the much simpler "Widely Recycled" guidance, many more people in the U.K. are likely to go through with recycling their used foil instead of adding it to the trash heap.
According to Jane Bevis, chair of OPRL, 7 of 10 consumers follow the recyclability guidelines included on packaging and 500 brands are already using OPRL's labels. Up until now, labeling on aluminium foil had asked recyclers to check their local capacity for recycling; with the much simpler "Widely Recycled" guidance, many more people in the U.K. are likely to go through with recycling their used foil instead of adding it to the trash heap.