Aluminium cans are:
- Shredded, removing any coloured coating
- Melted in a huge furnace
- The molten metal is poured into ingot casts to set. Each ingot can be made into around 1.5m cans
- NB: Aluminium foil is a different alloy and is usually recycled separately with other aluminium scraps to make cast items such as engine components, where it makes a big contribution to making vehicles lighter and more energy efficient.
Steel cans are:
- Put into the furnace where molten iron is added
- Oxygen is then blasted into the furnace which heats up to around 1700 degrees centigrade
- The liquid metal is poured into a mould to form big slabs which are then rolled into coils
- These coils are used to make all sorts of steel products such as bikes, cars, bridges, paperclips or even new food and drink cans.
