Steel and Aluminium Fact Sheet November 2017

Steel and Aluminium Producing aluminium and steel products is energy intensive, using finite natural resources and resulting in greenhouse gases emissions. Sending steel and aluminium to landfill is a waste of resources because less energy is required to reprocess the recycled steel and aluminium than it was to originally produce them.

The Problem

Scope of the Problem Making steel from recycled cans uses Did you know?

Aluminium and steel are extremely 75% less energy than when producing 2  Aluminium recycling saves versatile materials and feature in a steel from raw materials . energy: current global wide range of products from drink cans energy savings are to vehicles and buildings. It is Steel Waste equivalent to Australia’s estimated that Australians consume Steel can be recycled very efficiently − in terms of tonnage, it is the most recycled total annual electricity 450,000 tonnes of aluminium for 5 building and construction, packaging material in the world. consumption. and transport every year.1 Twenty one percent of all steel  Only 56% of cans being Not only is Australia a large consumer consumed in Australia is used in returned for recycling of aluminium, we are also the 5th engineering construction. Recycling despite 94% of households largest producer of primary aluminium rates are relatively high with some 80- having access to recycling 4 2 in the world.1 As a major producer of 90% of steel being reused or recycled. facilities. aluminium, we are responsible for the

environmental impacts of production. In  In Australia 97% of end of Global Warming addition to aluminium making its way life structural steel and 82%

into the waste stream, a great deal of of all scrap and waste steel How does production of steel and energy is used to manufacture raw is recycled into prime new aluminium contribute to climate change? 4 steel and aluminium. Production steel products.

involves the use of water, energy and Alumina is found in bauxite and used in virgin resources. Extraction leads to the production of aluminium. Production greenhouse gas emissions and destruction of natural environments. of alumina from bauxite requires direct When the aluminium product is no consumption of energy for heat and

longer needed, it enters the waste steam, as well as indirect consumption of 5 stream unless recycled or reused. energy as electricity.

Drink can waste Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and Australians use over 3 billion much energy is required to produce heat aluminium cans annually, with during the production process. Most approximately 350,000 aluminium cans electricity is generated by burning fossil made every minute. Only 56% of these fuels, which releases greenhouse gases cans are recycled and many become into the atmosphere, contributing to litter.2 global warming.

In the Clean Up Australia Day Report Transport of steel and aluminium 20133, results showed that for the first materials is also energy intensive: fossil time in 20 years beverage containers fuels are required for energy to transport and their associated rubbish materials at every stage of the product outstripped cigarette butts as the life cycle. This includes from mine-site to Number 1 rubbish group within the manufacturing facility to retail outlet to National Top 10. Since 2013 – 2016, waste management facility. this statistic has remained the same.

Clean Up Australia Ltd ABN 93 003 884 991, 193 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Australia tel: 1800 CUA DAY email: [email protected] web: www.cleanup.org.au Clean Up Australia Limited ABN 93 003 884 991

Steel and Aluminium Fact Sheet November 2017

Benefits of Recycling Steel and Aluminium

The Solution

Table: The table shows the top ten Steel Recycling References rubbish items for 2016.3 Magnets are often used to separate steel from other materials. Steel is then melted 1 Australian Aluminium Council Industry Description and reshaped before being used in the production of items as diverse as bikes, 2 Townsville City Council paper clips or new drink cans.8 Steel and Aluminium

3 Clean Up Australia Ltd How to find Recyclers in your Local Rubbish Reports 2016 Area Go to PlanetArk’s Recycling Near You 4 Australian Steel Institute website: www.recyclingnearyou.com.au website

5 Australian Aluminium Council 2012 Sustainability Report Container Deposit Legislation (CDL) Why buy Recycled Steel and

Aluminium? 6 European Aluminium Association Australia first introduced CDL in SA in Sustainability Benefits of Recycling Recycling the 1970’s and is slowly moving closer Aluminium and Steel 7 Capral to nationwide container deposit law. Conserve valuable natural resources Sustainability By mid 2017/18 it could be that the and raw materials only states without container deposit Avoid air and water pollution: using 8 Recycle Now schemes will be Tasmania, Victoria recycled materials generally creates Cans – How they are recycled and WA. In areas such as SA where less pollution 9 EPA SA CDL has been introduced there has Save landfill space by closing the loop: CDL SA Factsheet been lower levels of container litter and steel can be recycled indefinitely increased return rates for CDL keeping it out of the waste stream. 9 containers. Recycling also ensures materials don’t become litter! Benefits of Recycling Reducing the need to dig for virgin materials conserves soil integrity and Aluminium wildlife habitats Aluminium is particularly well suited to Save energy: recycled products recycling. Remelting used aluminium require less energy to manufacture saves up to 95% of the energy needed thus conserving oil and reducing 6 to produce the primary product. greenhouse gas emissions

Steel Steel and Aluminium into the Every tonne of recycled steel saves Future 1131kg of iron ore, 633kg of coal and

54 kg of limestone.2 Australians are increasingly demanding that

producers conserve finite natural resources The Recycling Process and reuse steel and aluminium products.

Aluminium Recycling However, a significant amount of steel and If aluminium is not contaminated, it is aluminium continues to enter the waste melted and reprocessed. If it is stream and to litter our environment. contaminated with other metals, such Because of the unique properties of as steel and iron, the aluminium is aluminium and steel, it is important that all separated and then melted into alloys Australians work together towards a 100% and used predominantly for aluminium recycling rate. castings.7