Keeping you in the loop (the closed-loop)
Keeping you in the loop (the closed-loop)
Sustainability in the products we use is very important. Our customers expect us to consider the environmental impact of our raw materials especially how waste is managed and recycled.
Metals are found in the earths crust in rocks and ore’s, Bauxite Ore is the primary source of the worlds aluminium, a reddish colour found in the topsoil in tropical and subtropical regions.
Bauxite Ore taken from top soil in tropical regions
The current reserves are estimated to last for at least 400 years without factoring in recycled aluminium. But due to the fact that aluminium is endlessly recyclable these reserves become in effect, inexhaustible.
Mining process for raw aluminium
Aluminium has many benefits in the construction industry, it’s a lightweight metal that is easy to modify and is naturally corrosion resistant.
It can be recycled again and again without losing quality, in fact 75% of all aluminium produced since 1880’s is still in use.
A recent visit to Alutrade to see first hand the recycling process
Have you ever wondered what happens at an aluminium recycling plant? Being professional curious on your behalf, I recently made a site visit to our supply chain to look at their waste management and it’s a very high tech affair. The process involves first identifying the exact alloy that is being recycled using sophisticated X-ray equipment and then employing state-of-the-art equipment which effectively strips all thermal breaks and other materials from the profile. What is left is the prime material, the alloy in its original state which can go back into the same product it came from without any loss of characteristics and vitally at a 100% recyclability rate. This is known as ‘closed-loop’ because the loop has been closed, the aluminium product which came to the end of its life has been recycled in a new product.
Recycled aluminium