CAN You Recycle This CAN?

Did You Know...

A few facts:

Aluminum and Steel are 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly.

Metal recycling is efficient: it only takes 2 months for a can to be recycled and back as a new can on the grocery shelf!

Aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S.

The volume of metal waste sent to landfills still represents around 2% of Municipal Solid Waste, where it would take 200 to 500 years to decompose.

Quick reminder: Metals that can be recycled in Hong Kong

• Iron and aluminum cans,

• Food containers like soup tins,

• Cookware like old pots and pans.

Don’t forget to empty, rinse and compress all cans!

Please note: aerosol cans, chemical containers, aluminum lined containers like juice boxes can’t be recycled in Hong Kong.

How Does Metal Recycling Work?

Metal is a material that can be recycled easily and continuously. The metal recycling process consists of the following steps:

• Separation: Metals are sorted according to different types of metals.

• Preparation: Metals are often shredded to reduce the energy used during the recycling process and to make each metal a similar density. For example, aluminum is converted into thin sheets.

• Melting: Metal is transported into a furnace to be exposed to high temperatures and converted to molten metal.

• Purification and formation: Metals released from the furnace can then be purified and shaped for their next purpose. Metals are often formed into bars, blocks or sheets.

Preservation of Natural Resources

Metal is excavated from the earth through a process called mining. Recycling metal helps to reduce the effects of mining. Mining operations can destroy natural habitats and pollute local environments.

The production of new metal from virgin ore releases a far greater amount of greenhouse gas emissions and uses more energy compared to making products from recycled metal. By recycling your can, you help reduce the demand for natural resources such as ore and also save energy. It requires much less energy to create a can from recycled aluminum than from raw materials: 20 cans can be produced from recycled aluminum with the same energy needed to create one can from virgin ore.

How Does Swire Properties Recycle Metals?

Swire Properties ensures all recyclables are properly managed by closely monitoring their downstream management of each recyclable. Metals are exported to overseas for recycling.

Remember: metal is a resource that can be recycled over and over without any loss in quality. So don’t forget to discard your cans in the metal bin to save resources and energy! Yes, you CAN!