Alcoa will collaborate with state recycling organizations and together they will determine individual allocations based upon locally-identified needs. States that will receive bin allocations in 2010 include Alabam, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, llinoi, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah.
Recycling aluminum cans provides benefits to the environment because it saves valuable landfill space, and the cans are infinitely recyclable. They can be used, recycled, and back on the store shelf as a new beverage can in less than 60 days. And, it takes 95% less energy to make a can from recycled aluminum, then from raw materials, the company said.
According to Alcoa, aluminum is also the most valuable material in the recycling bin. Although by weight, it is less than 2% of the USA’s recycled stream, aluminum generates 40% of the revenue to sustain all recycling programs.
Greg Wittbecker, director of Recycling at Alcoa, said: ”Alcoa and the Aluminum Association have a goal of increasing the recycling rates of aluminum beverage cans in the US from the current 54% to 75% by the year 2015.
“This bin distribution program is just one way that we’re trying to make it easier for people to recycle. If we could get each American to recycle just one more can per week over what they already do, we could reach our 75% recycling goal.”
Alcoa Recycling first started providing bins in 2008 and has given bins to municipalities, colleges, Native American tribes, and community-based organizations in 19 states.
