The Recycling Partnership reported on the impact of its Aluminum Recycling Initiative. Under the Initiative five grants have been issued for the continued advancement and improvement of aluminum recycling. To date, the grants have captured three times more aluminum than original projections estimated, ultimately resulting in an additional 4.1 million new pounds of aluminum captured annually, equal to more than 18,750 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions avoidance.
The Initiative’s efforts have focused on stimulating investment in sorting equipment and process improvements. Although materials like aluminum have a long history of recycling and are currently recycled at relatively high recycling rates, there are meaningful opportunities for improvement. To date, the Initiative has received support from the Can Manufacturers Institute, the Alcoa Foundation, and Arconic Foundation. While great strides have been made, there is a continued need for this type of impactful investment by all companies and organizations who share the vision of a more circular system for aluminum packaging.
One illustration of how this Initiative drives measurable progress is with recent grantee Curbside Management in Asheville, North Carolina. Funding from the Initiative catalyzed investment in a larger eddy current separator, allowing the facility to capture 1.3 million new pounds of recycled aluminum per year.
“Through the Aluminum Recycling Initiative grant, we were able to upgrade our aluminum capture process and maximize our annual tonnage. Adding a larger eddy current separator was essential in increasing the capture and improving the quality of aluminum from the container line,” said Barry Lawson, president of Curbside Management.
Other grantees have boosted aluminum capture through approaches ranging from replacing hand sortation with automated sortation to installing equipment that detects and captures aluminum missorted into the plastic container stream.
“There is a growing need to modernize MRFs to enhance sortation, increase capture rates, and improve bale quality,” said Adam Gendell, director
of materials advancement at The
Recycling Partnership. “These grants prove that investment can drive meaningful improvement, but we need continued support to achieve full-scale change.” The Initiative will continue to unlock opportunities for increased aluminum capture and is pleased to continue to make grant funds available to MRFs.
As published in June 2023 issue of American Recycler.