Steel and aluminium are common materials in the manufacturing industry. The global steel consumption is around 2 billion metric tons every year and the aluminium consumption is around 30 million tons in 2009. Europe and North American countries are playing a huge role in recycling these aluminium materials.
Aluminum is obtained from bauxite, a clay-like ore that is rich in aluminium compounds. World bauxite resources comprise around 75 billion tones in which the major quantity is present in South America and Africa. More than 3 to 4 kg of bauxite is needed to get one kg of aluminium. By conserving one kg of aluminium you are leaving the earth 4 kg of bauxite ore for your younger generation. Its not just about the resources, even you can save a lot of energy by recycling these precious materials. Results shows aluminium recycling requires only 5% of the energy needed as of the energy required for the primary production of this material. Aluminium cans are the most recycled materials next to steel cans in the world. Around 60 % of the aluminium cans are recycled in US alone by 2009.
The global steel consumption is increasing at a very high rate. Statistics shows an increase of 4% of average steel consumption is recorded in developing countries like China and India. Furthermore analysts predict this consumption rate will be more than 9% by 2012. Approximately around 11 million tons of steel is thrown out as scrap in which more than 60% of the scrap is recycled. Steel recycling is also considered to be an economical recycling process when compared to other precious metals like copper, brass, gold and silver. Reports indicate recycled steel requires only 20% of the energy needed for the primary production of this material from iron ore.
With the statistics reports and other proven results we can come to a conclusion that with this metal recycling the earth's metal resource balance can be sustained only through hard efforts. Though governments are doing their best with new legal laws for recycling it's our responsibility also to save these precious resources for our younger generation. Our responsibility doesn't end with saving these resources but we have to spread the word and encourage others to recycle as much as possible.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com
