We all know that plastics are constantly polluting our environment and seas. Plastics are made out of petrochemicals and can’t be decomposed. Therefore, it has become a threat to sea life because most of the plastic gets dumped in the seas and oceans. But to reduce the pollution, we need to use an alternative that is already available to us, which is aluminium.
But the argument does not end here. Producing aluminium from ore can create enough carbon waste to pollute the atmosphere. But despite that, companies are slowly shifting towards aluminium cans and bottles because, unlike plastic, aluminium is recyclable and uses 90% less energy than extracting the metal from the ore. Multinational companies like coca-cola, Pepsi, nestle have already launched some of their products in aluminium cans.
But nevertheless, recycling plastic is a very complex process, and with every recycling, the material starts losing its features, thus degrades in quality. Therefore the reuse rate of plastic is low. But as mentioned before, from the recycling perspective, aluminium is a greener alternative. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s data, aluminium cans have more than 68% recyclable content on average.
The water bottles made from aluminum have turned out to be promotional products for the beverage and soft drink companies. These metallic bottles are less contaminant or no contaminant at all and that is why consumers prefer these bottles. Companies can experiment with the packaging to create the perfect product package and increase their profit and sales by many folds. In terms of attractiveness and functionality aluminium bottles are few steps ahead of the rest of the packaging materials.
If the plastics packaging are replaced by aluminium packaging then the recycling time would be significantly less and pollution will reduce at the same time. Also from a monetary perspective the recycling of aluminium is cost effective and at the same time environmentally benefitting.
The aluminium is the leader in the recycling list because of its infinite recyclable characteristics. The quality of the metal does not degrade even after recycling it for 100 times. Almost two third of the aluminium ever produced are still being reused after recycling. After getting recycled aluminium can take various types of forms therefore making it usable for various purposes.
Furthermore, aluminium is an extremely safe material when used in food and beverage packaging. Majority of food does not react with the metal itself making it risk free for packing food items or ready to cook products.
Due to the high temperature annealing process used aluminium becomes extremely sterile.it does not promote the growth and development of bacteria or any other microorganisms. Aluminium containers and packaging material are already available in a variety of finishes. Therefore, using the already available materials becomes easy for manufacturers.
The carbon emitted by aluminium is significantly less polluting than plastics. Also, aluminium is lightweight; therefore, manufacturers can efficiently use the space. Also, less power is required to chill the drinks in tropical climates.