An aluminum recycling report from the United States

Aluminum is one of the most recycled and recyclable materials in use today. Recycled aluminum drink cans, car doors or window frames are often directly recycled. This process can happen almost infinitely.

High-value and infinitely recyclable aluminum is a material tailor-made for a more circular and sustainable economy.

Recycling is an important part of the modern aluminum industry. Producing recycled aluminum requires only around 5% of the energy required to produce new aluminum, reducing carbon emissions and saving money for businesses and end consumers.
As a result, nearly 75% of the aluminum produced to date is still in use.
In most industrial markets, such as automotive and construction, aluminum recycling rates exceed 90%.
Industrial recycling efforts in the U.S. alone save more than 90 million barrels of oil equivalent annually

Recycling aluminum is good for the environment and the economy. Today, more aluminum is recycled in the United States than ever before. We are just getting started.
Recycled aluminum saves 95% of the energy required to make new aluminum.
By recycling all aluminum beverage cans, we could save the U.S. economy more than $800 million annually.
Recycled aluminum accounts for 80% of U.S. aluminum production.
Aluminum production in the United States increasingly relies on scrap recovery and recycling. While primary aluminum production remains an important part of the U.S. aluminum supply chain, more than 80% of U.S. production currently produces secondary (or secondary) aluminum. This compares with 20 to 30 percent of production recycled in the 1980s. All told, the United States produces more recycled aluminum than any other country except China.

Increased aluminum recycling means less energy consumption and a lower carbon impact. For example, in the aluminum beverage can market, a one percentage point increase in end-of-life recycling reduces the carbon intensity of aluminum beverage can production by 1.02 kg CO2e per 1,000 cans. Increased recovery and recycling of aluminum is critical to the continued decarbonization of the entire industry.