Fast facts

HERE ARE SOME FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT STEEL CAN RECYCLING:

• Steel is one of the world’s most recycled products. In fact, steel is 100% recyclable, which means its lifecycle is potentially continuous.

• Steel is easily picked out of garbage and recycling waste by magnetic separation offering a cost efficient alternative to manual separation used for other materials.

• Each Australian disposes on average about six kilograms of steel cans each year. About 3.5kg of this amount is disposed to landfill.

• Making steel from recycled cans uses 75% less energy than when producing steel from raw materials.

• Every tonne of steel recycled saves 1131 kg of iron ore, 633 kg of coal and 54 kg of limestone.

• 15,000 steel cans is around 1 tonne of steel.

• In Australia, steel makes up approximately 2.5% of the waste that goes to landfill.

• Australia is ranked 12th in the world for steel can recycling.

• A study in Sydney and Melbourne showed 86% of teenagers in the two cities report some involvement in family recycling.

• 17.5 million steel cans are recycled each week in Australia – this is equivalent to the amount of steel needed to build 900 family sedans.

• Steel can recycling currently has a 56% recycling rate with 381 of the 685 councils in Australia representing 94% of the whole population offering their residents access to steel can recycling.

• Aerosols are one of the easiest of all the steel cans to recycle yet only 35% on average are being recycled.

• Awareness of steel can recyclability has increased 11% from 71% to 82% since 2000. In that time the number of councils collecting steel cans has increased from 353 representing 16.8 million people, to 381 councils representing 18.4 million people.

• 57% of consumers get their recycling information from packaging – the rest from their local council, the internet and friends.

FAST FACTS

Steel is one of the world’s most recycled products

• Making steel from recycled cans uses 75% less energy than when producing steel from raw materials.
• Steel can recycling currently has a 56% recycling rate with 381 of the 685 councils in Australia representing 94% of the whole population offering their residents access to steel can recycling.