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Tuesday, March 19, 2019

ALUMINUM CANS ARE PILING UP IN LANDFILLS BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS TO PAY TO RECYCLE THEM

Used aluminum cans are piling up in scrap yards as the market for aluminum recyclables shrinks in size and profitability, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The price for used aluminum cans tanked 30 percent since the summer of 2018. Aluminum rollers are cutting recycled aluminum from cans out of their business models to prioritize more profitable areas of business.


Old aluminum cans are limited in what aluminum products they can be used in. Car and airplane manufacturers tend to stay away from using aluminum made from recycled cans. Aluminum producers are turning away from the used can market despite facing social pressure to embrace recycling, WSJ reports.

The slowdown in recycling aluminum cans comes amid a downturn the recycling market more broadly. Chinese tariffs and increased standards in recyclables’ purity have tanked the price of scrap paper and used plastic in the U.S.

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sucks.

Anonymous said...

I recycle every two weeks!

Anonymous said...

You think you recycle...most of it just goes in the landfill. It's a shame...

Anonymous said...

I am pretty sure Toyota, Honda, Subaru and Nissan use them in their cars. I saw a Toyota in a fender bender and under the cracked paint you could make out miller lite

Anonymous said...

The problem with recycle in this area is lazy, cheap people who throw trash in at the recycle stations. That way they don't have to pay for pickup or a county permit. Plus they throw cat litter in the cans and contaminate alot of the product. And then there are signs that say empty all plastic bags. So the lazy a$$es still throw newspapers, and plastic in the cans in bags. Like a recycle fairy is going to go in and empty the bags for them. Guess what, the workers don't have time to open the bags and dump them out. The belt is moving to fast. So it gets pull off the line and into the trash, it goes. But at least you have the delusion you did your part.If your going to recycle, at least educate yourself on the process, or at least read the damn signs on the cans. Having a feel good moment and doing the wrong thing isn't good enough. Recycle is always changing. What the market is this month, or even this week may change. And there is a difference in scrap yards and a landfill. So WSJ, which is it.

Anonymous said...

If they paid a little more for them i'm sure there would be more recycling. You don't realize how many cans it takes to just get a few cents!

Anonymous said...

until we get a handle on the plastics being thrown away in this world things are going to get a lot worse. We have destroyed the oceans and the environment with our trow away consumer society!

bayman said...

Use them in the wall that we so desperately need.