Aluminium

Aluminium – mined in raw form as bauxite ore – is both one of the most abundant minerals on earth and one of the metals with the most widespread recycling processes worldwide. It is estimated that about 33% of new aluminium metal produced today is fabricated from scrap aluminium feedstocks, both pre- and post- consumer.

Aluminium recycling feedstock

Aluminium recycling takes place using either pre- or post-consumer scrap, or a mixture of the two. Overall, current research suggests that post-consumer scrap surpasses pre-consumer scrap as the most important input feedstock for recycled aluminium. In 2021, the International Aluminium Association reported that pre-consumer scrap sources were about 15.5 million tonnes worldwide, compared to 22.2 million tonnes of post-consumer scrap.

Pre-consumer aluminium feedstock scrap originates from several different processes. In the first place, pre-consumer scrap can be sourced from aluminium production. This includes leftovers from rolling, extrusion, or casting. Machining chips, for example, are small curly metal fragments that result when aluminium is cut or drilled during production processes. Secondly, fabrication scrap is pre-consumer waste generated when aluminium parts are manufactured or assembled, such as stampings or press remnants. Unfinished or defective products are a third subset of pre-consumer scrap items that never made it to market. Finally, foundry returns are pre-consumer scrap components that are reverted for secondary processing while metal is being cast into shapes.

Post-consumer aluminium scrap is generated from several main sectors. End-of-life transport products like automobiles, aircrafts, and train parts contain high volumes of aluminium. Industrial scrap from machinery and tools and scrap from building construction – such as window frames, siding, roofing, doors, and other structural components – are other major sources of large-volume post-consumer aluminium scrap. While smaller in individual volume, post-consumer scrap from packaging (like beverage cans or foil) and consumer goods like electronics or washing machines and refrigerators also make up important post-consumer scrap sources.

Approximately 70% of aluminium used by consumers is recycled, and research for the European Commission suggests that because of its endless recyclability, as much as 75% of all aluminium manufactured historically is in use today. As such aluminium is among the leading non-ferrous metals in terms of its overall recycling performance, which can be attributed to the well-established historical footprint of aluminium recycling – in practice since at least 1904.

However, recycling rates vary significantly between post-consumer aluminium feedstock scrap types. Aluminium beverage containers are perhaps the most easily identifiable post-consumer recyclable material, and indeed aluminium cans are the world’s most recycled container. In Brazil, Germany, Japan, and Finland, nearly 100% of used aluminium beverage cans are reported as separated for recycling, far surpassing rates for comparable plastic and glass packaging. By contrast, inadequate collection of electrical and small machinery waste – even in countries with strong overall waste management like Germany – means that recycling rates for aluminium-containing household appliances hover closer to 40%.

Aluminium can be recovered as e-waste from components and structures of various household, industrial, and commercial electronics applications. The 2024 Global E-Waste Monitor reports that about 1.1 billion kilograms of aluminium were recovered from e-waste annually in recent years, and about 44% of this is recovered from small equipment. Overall, the recovery rate of aluminium from e-waste is only about 60%, suggesting considerable room for improvement as e-waste recovery gains speed globally.

The average lifespan of aluminium products impacts the availability of post-consumer scrap. Packaging has a lifespan of less than 5 years, whereas consumer durables like small appliances are typically in use up to 10 years, but other important aluminium scrap feedstock products like window frames, cars, and industrial tools may be in use for 30-50 years.

With these feedstock flows in mind, experts anticipate that sources of post-consumer scrap will increase sharply in coming years and constitute twice the amount of pre-consumer scrap available by 2036. In total, this would be mean nearly 44.6 million tonnes of post-consumer scrap available as recycling feedstocks. Global demand for aluminium is expected to rise 80% by 2025, due to its importance as a transition metal, and scaling up pre- and post-consumer recycling can fill supply chain shortages.