Alcoa Recycling

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Beer Can

The iconic beer can – the world’s most recycled and sustainable beverage container – turned 75 years old this week. 

Ball Corporation, the largest supplier of beer cans in the world, says that cans have offered a light weight, durable alternative to glass beer packaging since Krueger first introduced its Special Beer and Cream Ale in steel cans in 1935.

Since then, the aluminum can has become an attractive choice for brewers and is now the predominant beer package in many parts of the world. 

Thanks to the introduction of aluminum cans in 1958, beer cans are now lighter and more sustainable than ever before.  While the first steel beer can weighed 35 ounces and required a church key for opening, today’s aluminum beer cans now weigh just .47 ounces and feature easy-open, stay-on tabs.

The beer can is not only the lightest beverage package available, it is the most recycled package in the world, too. More than 50% of all aluminum cans in the US – and about 70% of all aluminum cans in Europe – are recycled.  That’s a higher recycling rate than any other beverage container.

Aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable and require 95% less energy to produce than new aluminum cans.  And if you choose to drink a cold can beer in celebration of the beer can’s 75^th anniversary, it can be recycled and back on store shelves in as little as 60 days.

College Students Embark on RecycleMania!

College students across the nation have embarked on a 10-week recycling competition known as RecycleMania.  The competition involved more than 500 colleges and universities last year and achieved amazing success by recycling 69.4 million pounds of material. 

Rutgers recycled more than any other school in 2009 – weighing in with 2.1 million pounds of recyclables – while McNeese State earned recognition for recycling an average of 76.19 pounds per student.   Kalamazoo College won the award for collecting the most aluminum cans and bottles.  The tiny Michigan school recycled more than 21,000 pounds of aluminum cans and bottles.

RecycleMania was started in 2001 as a friendly competition between Ohio University and Miami University and has grown to include colleges in all 50 states and beyond.  The program is made possible with the support of the National Recycling Coalition / College and University Recycling Council and Keep America Beautiful.

You can learn more about this innovative program at www.recyclemania.org.

Utah youths celebrate MLK Day by collecting aluminum cans for charity

A group of Southern Utah youths spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day collecting aluminum cans to raise money for charity.  The group collected 107 pounds of aluminum cans and will use the proceeds to support Big Brothers Big Sisters, a youth mentoring organization.

Sheena Rosander, an adviser for Youth Volunteer Corps of America in St. George, Utah, told The Spectrum newspaper that the group wants to get young people across Washington County more involved in recycling efforts. 

Congratulations to these ambitious, service-oriented kids for choosing to recycle aluminum cans for such a worthy cause.

NFL fans show their spirit with recycling

Tailgating before a football game is a rite of passage of fans of college and professional teams – and it can be a great opportunity to show your commitment to recycling.  

The Carolina Panthers announced last week that tailgaters recycled more than 30 tons of aluminum cans and other materials during 10 NFL games, plus the Meineke Car Care Bowl, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.  The effort exceeded the goal of organizers by 50%.

With four NFL playoff games scheduled for this weekend, let’s hope the fans of every team make an effort to recycle their beverage cans when the tailgating is over.  It’s a great way to support our environment and you might get rewarded.  The Indianapolis Colts, for example, have a program that rewards fans caught in the act of recycling with free team merchandise.

How Alcoa and the aluminum can are making wedding dreams come true

Alcoa will donate 150,000 aluminum cans to help make Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish’s wedding dreams come true.  The Spokane, Washington couple is tapping into their desire to protect the environment by recycling aluminum cans to raise money for their wedding.

The goal: to recycle 400,000 aluminum cans before their July 2010 nuptials. 

When Alcoa – the world’s largest aluminum recycler – heard about Peter and Andrea’s creative pursuit, it wanted to support their efforts to promote recycling.  Alcoa’s donation will put Peter and Andrea over halfway toward their goal.  The couple has already received cans and cash donations equal to more than 100,000 aluminum cans.  Go to www.weddingcans.com to learn more or click here to watch their interview on the CBS Early Show. 

“The support that Alcoa has offered is incredibly motivating,” Andrea said. “While our goal has been to collect 400,000 cans for our wedding, we are even more excited about getting the message of recycling and helping the environment out to even more people."

The decision to focus on recycling aluminum cans was a perfect way for Peter and Andrea to help protect the environment and earn money.  Aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable and require 95% less energy to produce than new aluminum cans.  The beverage containers can be used, recycled, and back on store shelves in as little as 60 days.