aluminium facts

• aluminium is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust and is the earth's second most used metal

• the aluminium drink can is the world's most recycled packaging container - worldwide over 50% of aluminium cans are recycled

• nearly 60% of the aluminium used in the UK has been previously recycled

• recycling aluminium drink cans saves up to 95% of the energy needed to make aluminium from its raw materials

• making one aluminium drink can from raw materials uses the same amount of energy that it takes to recycle 20

• recycling 1 kg of aluminium saves 8kg of bauxite, 4kg of chemical products and 14 Kilowatts of electricity

• the energy saved by recycling 1 aluminium drink can is enough to run a television for three hours

• in 2000 the UK consumed 5 billion aluminium drinks cans, of which 42% were recycled. This is lower than the European leaders - Switzerland and Finland currently have the highest recycling rate at 91%

• the average person uses 1.3kg of aluminium cans a year - that's about 84 cans

• the average household uses 3.2kg of aluminium cans a year - that's about 208 cans

• if all the aluminium drinks cans recycled in the UK last year were laid end to end, they would stretch from John O'Groats to Land's End 140 times

• an aluminium drink can contains four different aluminium alloys: the can body, can end, ring pull and the rivet attaching the ring pull