The first step to minimizing the expense of waste is to reduce the waste generated. But when the waste can not be reduced, we must reuse or recycle it. Aluminum cans can not be reduced, but they can be reused in art projects or recycled. Aluminum cans are the premiere example of a recyclable waste. To make aluminum, bauxite ore is mined then shipped to a refining plant.
Machines crush and chemically treat the ore to produce a white powdery oxide called alumina.
In the final stage, a high-voltage electrical current is passed through the mixture to separate the aluminum from the oxygen. This eliminates the mining, refining and reduction processes, as well as reducing shipping costs. By recycling just one aluminum can, we save enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning about three and a half hours. For each pound of metal recycled, the aluminum industry saves the energy resources needed to generate about 7.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity. In 1986, the aluminum industry saved enough energy to meet the electric needs for about six years of a city the size of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.