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Over 22 million tonnes of aluminium are used each year, slightly under 20% of which is recycled. Today the metal is mainly used to make beverage cans, which are the developed world's most recycled containers and fulfill all the requirements of recycling - the process can be repeated time and again and new cans made from 100% recycled material.

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Spain consumes close to five billion beverage cans, making it Europe's third-largest consumer, following the United Kingdom and Germany

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Recycling
Thanks to the savings it yields and to its simplicity, aluminium recycling has a long history. Today, it's a common activity which is both technically accessible and profitable, bringing with it significant environmental, economic and social benefits.

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A full 100% of used aluminium material can be recycled. As the properties of
the metal are not altered by recycling, the end product is identical to the original. Indeed, aluminium can be recycled over and over again with no loss of quality whatsoever.

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Recycling used aluminium cans is a profitable industrial activity that can foster job creation. In 2001, the material harvested from used aluminium cans made for a six million euro business in Spain.

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Recycled cans
In 2001, 9,761 tonnes of aluminium cans - 24.2% of the total - were recycled. The sector generated over nine million euros, according to the Association for Aluminium Product Recycling / Asociaci�n para el Reciclado de los Productos de Aluminio (ARPAL). (For further information dial 91 571 46 46)

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In Spain, used aluminium cans are collected in various ways. For the consumer, the most accessible way to recycle is via the familiar yellow containers found in city streets next
to glass and paper recycling bins

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Not without bauxite
The primary material used in aluminium production is bauxite, which comes from Brazil (2,800 million tonnes), Guinea (2,600 million tonnes), Jamaica (2,000 million tonnes) and
India (1,000 tonnes). Close to three billion tonnes of the world's bauxite reserves are
found in developing countries.

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To manufacture three tonnes of alumina, that is, aluminium ore, you need four tonnes of bauxite, which, when reduced to pure aluminium, yields a final product of one tonne. The recycling of aluminium is increasingly necessary, as production of the metal is detrimental
to the environment - open mining of bauxite leaves traces of a red mud which is a powerful pollutant. Recycling saves 95% of the original energy needed to turn bauxite into aluminium.

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Did you know...?
- To find out whether the container you have is made of aluminium, check its base. If it's shiny and magnets don't stick to it, it's aluminium.
- Used beverage cans can sell for up to one euro per kilogramme - almost two pesetas
per can.
- Hydropower is used to manufacture 60% of the world's aluminium supply. Aluminium production requires 14 kilowatts per hour for every kg of aluminium ore. 1 kg aluminium =
50 beverage cans.
- Aluminium is toxic and acidic foods should not be prepared in aluminium pans. The acid may cause tiny particles of aluminium to dissolve.
- The province of Tarragona was home to the first aluminium can factory, in 1993.
- Beverage can sales in Europe reached 33,800 million units in 1999, an increase of 3.5% over the previous year's figures of 32,700 million.
- Another use of aluminium is tinfoil, which accounts for close to 40% of aluminium wrap used in the United Kingdom, including beverage tins. In the UK, 50,000 tonnes of tinfoil are thrown out each