Packaging

In 2005, containers and packaging ranked second to transportation with 20 percent of the North American market for aluminum shipments, thanks to shipments of 5.1 billion pounds of aluminum in products such as beverage cans, food containers, and household and institutional foil.

The popularity of aluminum packaging is in part attributable to the changing habits of Americans, who have become convinced of the benefits of recycling (energy and natural resource conservation, as well as landfill savings). Thanks to more than 10,000 recycling centers nationwide, over half of all aluminum cans produced today are recycled. The industry has done its part in reducing the weight of aluminum cans by about one-third and continuing to raise awareness of the value of recycling.