Chinese Whisper – Are Aluminium Cans Made of Aluminium?
Aluminium, like other metals, is a permanent material whose inherent properties do not change during use and despite repeated recycling into new products.
The current Chinese whisper – that Aluminium Cans are not made of aluminium – stems from the fact that ‘Pepsi Cola’ cans used to be made from steel. Hence, manyold Pepsi cans are being recovered from wayside ditches are in fact steel. These steel cans cannot be smeltedt o make aluminium.
The easiest way to establish whether a ‘can’ is made of aluminium is to use a simple fridge magnet. If the magnet sticks – it’s steel. If it does not stick, it’s aluminium.
Because aluminium is infinitely recyclable, it can be reused in applications vastly different from its previous purpose. It can also be recast into its original form. These properties make aluminium an ideal material for use in any other applications, even after being recycled many times.
For example, an old aluminium engine block can be recycled into the aluminium needed for the engine block of a new car with no degradation in quality. Its recycling does not necessarily require the addition of primary material or additives to enable the basic material function and properties.
The fact is that aluminium is infinitely recyclable making it the material of choice for balancing the demand of a growing economy with the need to preserve the environment.
The Aluminium Federation based in Birmingham is the font of all aluminium knowledge. Anyone with queries may contact them direct and speak to their technical experts. They are all very helpful. If you require the telephone number, please let us know and we will obtain it for you.