GitlitzEPAOct29 02

Trashed Cans:  The Global Environmental Impacts of Aluminum Can Wasting in America: 

Trashed Cans: The Global Environmental Impacts of Aluminum Can Wasting in America Presentation to the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response October 29, 2002 Washington, DC Pat Franklin, Executive Director Jennifer Gitlitz, Research Director

Used aluminum beverage container (UBC) trends in the United States: 

Used aluminum beverage container (UBC) trends in the United States Aluminum beverage can sales have been steady at roughly 100 billion cans/year UBC Recycling Rate is Declining UBC Wasting is increasing (in billion units & total tonnage) True for glass and plastics as well.

Beverage container recycling rates declining: all 3 major packages: 

Beverage container recycling rates declining: all 3 major packages

Glass beverage bottle waste: 

Glass beverage bottle waste Recycling rate in 1998 was 31.4% , down from 33.4% in 1995 (GPI). (EPA 2000: 26.1%) EPA estimates that 5.7 million tons of glass beverage bottles were landfilled in 2000. (not including landfilling after curbside collection) Single stream, contamination, limited mixed color markets  even more landfilled.

PET plastic beverage bottle waste: 

PET plastic beverage bottle waste From 1992 to 2001: Annual wasting grew by 630,550 tons Annual recycling grew by 165,700 tons Thousands of tons © Container Recycling Institute, 2002. Source: American Plastics Council, 1992-2002. Derived from "2001 National Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling Report," American Plastics Council, 0ct. 2002 (CRI assumes that 50% of "custom bottles" are beverage bottles).

Aluminum beverage can waste: 910 billion cans trashed since first Earth Day: 

Aluminum beverage can waste: 910 billion cans trashed since first Earth Day 50.7 1990: 594,420 tons …a 28% increase 2001: 759,625 tons Graph prepared using data from the Aluminum Association and the U.S. Department of Commerce. 1970 is a CRI estimate. © Container Recycling Institute, 2002. 45.8

Reasons for the trend: 

Reasons for the trend Declining financial incentives to recycle cans Scrap value of aluminum has not kept up with inflation In 10 deposit states, refund values have not increased Employment and wages have increased More away-from-home consumption esp. true for plastics and glass Declining number of buybacks

A closer look at aluminum can waste: 

A closer look at aluminum can waste Wasting is increasing despite increasing number of residential recycling programs Quantity of metal and energy squandered is staggering Environmental & social effects are pronounced yet little-known Aluminum industry’s efforts to address the problem have been largely symbolic and ineffective Deposits recover cans more effectively than any other system

Aluminum Cans Wasted in the United States, 1970 - 2001 : 

Aluminum Cans Wasted in the United States, 1970 - 2001

Squandered metal: 

Squandered metal Between 1990 and 2000, Americans wasted a total of 7.1 million tons of cans: enough to manufacture 316,000 Boeing 737 airplanes—or enough to reproduce the world’s entire commercial airfleet 25 times.* * Based on aluminum can wasting from 1990-2000 (7.1 million tons), 16,000 jets in the worldwide commercial fleet, and an average of 35,000 lbs of aluminum per plane.

50.7 billion cans wasted in 2001:: 

50.7 billion cans wasted in 2001: Two million of these 700-pound bales could have been made from the aluminum cans wasted in the U.S. last year.

The Aluminum Can Recycling Rate: Two methods of measurement: 

The Aluminum Can Recycling Rate: Two methods of measurement

Imported vs. Exported Scrap Aluminum Cans, 1990-2001: 

Imported vs. Exported Scrap Aluminum Cans, 1990-2001 Source: Graph prepared using data from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce/Bureau of the Census.

Wasting aluminum cans has disproportionate environmental impacts: 

Wasting aluminum cans has disproportionate environmental impacts

Bauxite ore: 4-5 tons are needed to make 1 ton of primary aluminum: 

Bauxite ore: 4-5 tons are needed to make 1 ton of primary aluminum A red mud lake in Jamaica. Dust from alumina refining and export operations has caused respiratory and aesthetic damage, and portside alumina spills have harmed coastal coral reefs. In 2000, the U.S. imported 3 million tons of bauxite and 400,000 tons of alumina from Jamaica, over 90% of which was used for primary aluminum. Photo: Dr. Robert J. Lancashire, University of the West Indies.

Alumina refining: 

Alumina refining The Kirkvine alumina refinery in Jamaica. Alumina refining creates about two tons of caustic red mud wastes per ton of primary ingot, as well as a host of airborne emissions. Photo: Dr. Robert Lancashire

Impacts of aluminum production are felt far from American consumers: 

Impacts of aluminum production are felt far from American consumers Built in 1965 to supply cheap power for a 174,000 ton aluminum smelter in Tema, the Akosombo Dam on Ghana’s Volta River created a reservoir which covered 4% of the country, inundating the homes of 80,000 people in 740 villages. The reservoir exacerbated waterborne diseases, including schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis (river-blindness), and malaria, and has done little in the way of rural electrification or local economic development.

Pollutants from “replacement production” of 759,625 tons of cans wasted in 2001: 

Pollutants from “replacement production” of 759,625 tons of cans wasted in 2001 2.7 million tons of toxic mud wastes and other residues 15,828 tons of PM  respiratory distress

Beverage container litter: $938/year per farm in damage: 

Beverage container litter: $938/year per farm in damage “[B]everage containers tossed from car windows onto farmers’ fields present special problems. Dairy cows suffer lacerated organs—and die—after chewing on cans. Plastic containers are ground up in harvesters, contaminating hay, feed and vegetable crops, causing millions of dollars in damage. -- Larry Breech, President of the Pennsylvania Farmers Union, in an op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 2002.

Cartoon from Joel Pett: 

Cartoon from Joel Pett © Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader, 2000.

Aluminum Can Recycling vs. Access to Curbside Programs, 1990-2000: 

Aluminum Can Recycling vs. Access to Curbside Programs, 1990-2000

The Effect of Deposit Laws on the UBC Recycling Rate, 1970-1990: 

The Effect of Deposit Laws on the UBC Recycling Rate, 1970-1990

In 10 deposit states, refund values have not kept pace with inflation: 

In 10 deposit states, refund values have not kept pace with inflation SB2220 would update the deposit value every 10 years, in 5-cent increments, based on inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index.

Financial incentives are key to attain beverage container recovery rates of 80% or more: 

Financial incentives are key to attain beverage container recovery rates of 80% or more

Pat Franklin, Executive DirectorContainer Recycling Institute: 

1911 Ft. Myer Drive, Suite 702 Arlington, Virginia 22209-1603 Tel. (703) 276-9800 Fax (703) 276-9587 pfranklin@container-recycling.org Pat Franklin, Executive Director Container Recycling Institute Jennifer Gitlitz, Research Director Home office 1010 Pleasant Street Worcester, MA 01602 Tel. (508) 793-8516 Fax (928) 833-0460 jgitlitz@container-recycling.org jengitlitz@aol.com www.container-recycling.org www.bottlebill.org