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TABLE 6.6
Specifications for Aluminum Beverage Can Scrap

Baled UBC Used aluminum beverage cans, magnetically separated and free from all other types of material.
Average bale dimensions 30 to 36 in. 36 to 48 in. 60 to 72 in. (75 to 90 cm 90 to
120 cm 150 to 180 cm). Density 14 to 30 lb/ft . Bales should be kept dry. Most mills will allow
2
4% maximum water content.
Densified UBC Cans are compressed to a small block, approximately 12 to 16 in. 16 to 24 in. by a variable
thickness of 6 to 10 in. Density 30 and 50 lb/ft . All bricks should be of the same dimensions
2
and fairly uniform in weight. The individual bricks have slots for banding and are stacked in a
uniform fashion and strapped into a bundle of 2 to 3000 lb with 1/2 to 3/4 in. 0.020 in. steel
strapping. This package is only made by specific machines (“Densican”) designed to produce
these uniform can bricks. Aluminum must be free of steel, aluminum foil, paper, wood, oil and
all types of non-UBC metals. Most mills will allow up to 4% water content
2
Bricked UBC Cans compressed to a density of 45 to 70 lb/ft in a high-compression press with two equal
dimensions between 12 and 24 in. and one variable dimension up to 48 in. For shipment to U.S.
consumers, briquettes should be stacked at least 4 ft high and strapped into bundles without the
use of pallets or any support sheets or wrapping other than steel straps. It is important that the bricks
be free of iron, dirt, and any other scrap since they are sometimes charged directly into a furnace.
Source: ISRI, no date. Reproduced with kind permission of the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., Washington,
DC 20005-3104. The ISRI Scrap Specifications Circular is subject to change. To find the most recent edition, go
to www.isri.org.

● Aluminum recycling is profitable and well established because it requires only 5% of the
electric power to remelt aluminum as it does to extract it from bauxite ore (Rhyner et al.,
1995; Liu and Liptak, 2000).
● Recycled cans are of uniform and known composition and impurities are readily
removed.

6.9.5 ONE FINAL NOTE ON ALUMINUM
A recently released report indicates that in 2001 more aluminum cans were littered, landfilled,
or incinerated than were recycled. According to Container Recycling Institute (2002), the 50.7 bil-
lion aluminum cans wasted last year squandered the energy value equivalent to 16 million barrels
of crude oil, or enough energy to supply 2.7 million American homes with electricity for a year.

6.10 FERROUS METALS

Ferrous metals are those containing iron and are used in the manufacture of industrial and consumer
goods. Industrial ferrous waste may include aged tanks and silos, obsolete machine tools, retired
railway locomotives, dismantled bridges, entire ships, demolished steel-framed buildings, and
worn-out motor vehicles. Consumer ferrous waste includes appliances (“white goods”), automo-
biles (each year about 10 million discarded), food, and nonfood containers.

6.10.1 STEEL MANUFACTURE
Five major groups of activities are involved in steel manufacture: coking, sintering, iron-making,
steelmaking, and final rolling and finishing (Russell and Vaughan, 1976). Coking involves heat-
ing coal pyrolytically (i.e., in the absence of air) to produce a fuel high (approximately 90%) in
carbon. Sintering agglomerates fine ore particles into a porous mass for charging into the blast
furnace.