Despite today's dodgy economy and uncertain business environment, it's important to keep the costs of goods as low as possible for the end consumer. This, however, can be tricky, because many consumer goods are designed to be discarded after their useful life is over. One way to help to keep prices down is to utilise recycling whenever and wherever possible. Take aluminium step ladders as an example. Although durable, aluminium does have some shortcomings. The primary one is that it can weaken when exposed to fire. You may not be able to see any damage, but fire can compromise the structure of the ladder, making it weak and prone to breakage. However, rather than simply discarding your aluminium step ladder, why not consider recycling it? In order to help you on your way, here's some information on how to go about doing this:

Aluminium Step Ladders: Prime Candidates for Recycling

Did you know that 75% of all the aluminium ever produced remains in use to this day? This remarkable metal retains its value and can be repeatedly recycled without any loss of quality or strength. The recycling process itself helps to conserve energy and to reduce the greenhouse gases that are so detrimental to the environment. The more we recycle aluminium, the more evident its benefits become. In the UK, the government has initiatives to improve resource management and enhance sustainability, and recycling is an integral part of these processes. Whether it is aluminium step ladders, drink cans, kitchen gear or other items made from this versatile metal, virtually all aluminium products can be recycled in a cost-effective way.

Aluminium Step Ladders: The Incentive to Recycle is Strong

The main reason to recycle aluminium products is the high value of aluminium scrap. This is the case because it takes significantly less energy (around 95% less) to recycle aluminium that it does to extract it from its primary source, bauxite. This means that scrap is as valuable as the primary metal.  So what does this mean in real terms? Saved resources and reduced weight. Here's an interesting statistic: Every tonne of aluminium that's recycled saves 9 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This tonnage is equivalent to driving a car 2,800 miles or up and down the UK over 3 times! Also, all the waste gases generated by the processes used to recycle aluminium are removed from the recycling plant and sent to a facility specially built for emission abatement. Such plants are registered with the Environment Agency under the Environmental Protection Act of 1990. This type of plant uses a number of abatement systems and can represent a £7 million investment.

Aluminium Step Ladders: How the Recycling Process Works

Let's take an aluminium can as an example. Recycling it takes just five simple steps: collection, recycling, rolling, can making, filling and selling. Here are a few details of the process. First, the scrap is shredded. Since this generates a high volume of toxic aluminium dust, cold dust filters are employed to remove it. Then, in the processes used to decoat and melt the aluminium, a hot dust filtration system is used. A lime injection system is an integral component of a hot dust filter. This dry reaction process serves to remove acidic gases and to ensure an efficient reaction in the manufacturing operation. In addition, the by-products of the dry reaction process and other particulates generated by manufacturing are removed from the exhaust gas with a bag filter. It's important to note that the lime used is itself recycled for use in the cement industry.

Aluminium Step Ladders: More About Recycling

For the recycling process to be successful, contaminates must be removed because they can reduce the viability and efficiency of the process, in what's called a “recycling loop.” This results in lower profitability of the aluminium recycling scheme. Such materials and residues include rubber, plastics, paper, other heavy metal objects, flammable materials and even rocks. These can disrupt the recycling process, damage equipment, harm personnel at the plant and lead to explosions and fires. Also, food and beverage residues encourage infestation by rodents and insects.

Aluminium Step Ladders: In case You Need Reasons to Recycle Them!

In the UK, domestic users produce over 30.5 million tonnes of waste annually. Of that amount, only about 15% is collected for recycling, and an even lower percentage of that is aluminium. In contrast, other EU countries are recycling as much as 50% of their waste, so they waste less and have a lower need to use noxious landfills. Of the 24 million tonnes of aluminium that's produced every year, about 50,000 tonnes are used in packaging and household items like ladders. Experts project that if all the aluminium cans in the UK were recycled, we'd need 14 million fewer dustbins. Those who don't opt to recycle aluminium are wasting money. It's known that about £36,000,000 worth of aluminium is thrown away annually.

Aluminium Ladders: The Benefits of Recycling

Consider this: Up to 80% of a motor vehicle is recyclable, and a large proportion of that material is aluminium parts and components. Discardable packaging accounts for over 15% of the price paid for a product. The unreleased energy found in the average dustbin could power a television for 5,000 hours. When you think about all the aluminium that's contained in product packaging that isn't recycled, it really begins to mount up. In fact, experts say that the volume of rubbish discarded in the UK in 8 months would fill the country's largest lake with ease. Along with aluminium, it's important to recycle other items like glass and plastic bottles. A single recycled glass bottle saves enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes, and the energy saved by a single recycled plastic bottle would power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours. Finally, 9 out of 10 people admit they would recycle more if the process was easier.

So, whether it's aluminium step ladders, cans, kitchen gear or a myriad of other familiar products, it pays to recycle, which means you're doing your part to conserve our valuable resources.