What is the Circular Economy?

Metal processing and recycling plays an important role in the Circular Economy. But what is it?

Metal is 100% recyclable, it is permanent and it can be recycled forever, over and over again. Every year the UK recycles 12 million tonnes of metal. That is the same as 24 billion footballs, two and half million killer whales or 80 billion potatoes! Recycling is a part of the what is called the circular economy.

The aim of the circular economy is to keep material being used again and again for as long as it can.

You start with raw materials (ore) which are the ingredients of your item – it could be the television you watch, the chair that you sit on or an aluminium drink can. Using the can as an example; it is designed and made and filled with fizzy drink (production), goes to a warehouse, then is delivered to a shop or a supermarket (distribution) where it is an item you can purchase and use (Consumption).

Then what? What do we do with our can? We either ‘bin it’ or recycle it. By recycling it, you are actively diverting the can from the waste stream or landfill. This is the point that our business steps in. By processing the metals, we supply foundries that melt the aluminium in order to repurpose it back into the ‘circle’.

An aluminium can is back in the shop in 60 days. That’s been made into a can, filled, used, recycled into another can and filled up again.

Visit https://thinkcans.net/ for more information.