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The Aluminum Can

How Cans are Made

1. Cup Forming The process starts with an aluminum coiled sheet which is fed through a press that punches out shallow cups. 2. Redrawing & Ironing Cups are fed into an ironing press where successive rings redraw and iron the cup and reduce sidewall thickness to get a full length can. The bottom is domed to obtain strength required to withstand internal pressure. 3. Trimming Cans are spun as a cutting tool trims the rough shell from the inside. 4. Cleaning The cans are cleaned and pre-treated for decoration and inside coating. Pre-clean with water rinse Clean with commercial cleaner Cold water rinse Conditioning Cold water rinse Deionized water rinse Drying 5. Printing & Varnishing Cans are rolled against a rubber cylinder to print up to four colors simultaneously, then moved to another station where a clear protective overvarnish is applied. 6. Bottom Varnishing Cans are conveyed past an applicator that applies protective varnish to the bottom. 7. Baking Cans wind through a conveyor in an oven to dry the printing. 8. Inside Spraying A specially selected coating is sprayed on the inside of the cans. 9. Baking Cans are conveyed through a tunnel oven that bakes and cures the inside coating. 10. Necking and Flanging Cans are necked-in at the top to reduce can diameter and flanged to accept the end. 11. Light Tester Clean cans are cycled through a light tester that detects pin holes and rejects defective cans... 12. Palletizing After final inspection cans are palletized for shipments to the customer... End-Making 1. Stamping Ends are stamped out of pre-coated aluminum coil. Compound is added to assure a perfect seal between can and end at the customer’s plant. 2. Rivet Making, Scoring and Tabbing Ends are fed through a high precision press where rivet making, scoring, and tabbing occur in consecutive operations. 3. Shipping Ends are bagged and placed on skids for shipment to the customer.

Recycling Centers

The municipal waste and recycling industries have invested millions of dollars to create thousands of recycling centers across the United States. It's convenient and easy to recycle cans. And nothing recycles faster than aluminum. It can take as little as 60 days for a recycled aluminum beverage can to be back in a store.

People's attitudes toward aluminum can recycling has also changed over the years. Once considered only as a method of fundraising for schools, churches and other community groups, aluminum can recycling is now a part of everyday life.

That's due in no small part to the value of recycled aluminum. In fact, aluminum cans are the most valuable item in your recycling bin.

The recent trend has seen Americans recycle more than half of their aluminum cans each year. In 2000, 62.6 billion aluminum cans were recycled, according to figures released earlier this year by The Aluminum Association, the Can Manufacturers Institute and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.

The percentage of aluminum recycled from beverage cans continues to surpass all other recyclable packaging materials. Aluminum cans represent only 1% or so of total landfill volume today, and this percentage is actually falling.

Because of this highly successful recycling rate, more then half of each can, on average, is made from recycled aluminum cans.

This is why we say that the aluminum can isn't solid waste, it's solid value. In fact, in 2000, the aluminum industry paid $1.2 billion for all the used aluminum beverage cans returned in that year. These revenues from can recycling provide personal income for individuals, funds for charities, and operating revenues for municipal recycling programs.

But the industry's goal is to recycle every single can. This is understandable when you realize that more than half of each aluminum can manufactured comes from recycled aluminum. So every can that gets recycled saves energy and natural resources, at the same time that it reduces solid waste.

ARCO, Alcoa, Alcan  and  Wise Metals want you to learn more about the aluminum can.  Also learn how to recycle your cans to build homes for the Aluminum Cans Build Habitat for Humanity Homes Program, building homes for people in need.