Get the Facts on the Beverage Industry and Recycling

• 51.9 billion – number of aluminum cans recovered in 2006. Roughly two-thirds of the cans were soft drink cans containing sodas, teas and juices.
• 15 million barrels of oil – roughly the U.S. energy savings from aluminum can recycling in 2006.
• 51.6 percent - the aluminum can recycling rate in 2006.
• 32.41- number of cans made per pound of aluminum in 2006.
• 23.1 percent - overall 2005 polyethyl terephthalate (PET) bottle recycling rate, which is an increase from 2004 figures. PET is the most commonly used plastic bottle.
• 1.17 billion pounds - total PET bottles recovered for recycling topped this figure for the first time ever in 2005.
• 50 percent of recovered PET bottles were used for fiber, such as carpet backing and clothing in 2005.
• Beverage packaging of all types represent about 5.7 percent of the total weight and volume of municipal solid waste (MSW or trash) produced in the U.S. each year.
• 1.9 percent – percentage of the total U.S. waste stream represented by ABA member companies’ beverage containers.
• 73 percent of scrap revenue- although beverage containers account for less than 20 percent of materials collected in most curbside programs, they generate up to 73 percent of total scrap revenue earned by communities.
• 7.4 percent – amount of beverage container roadside litter, according to Northbridge Environmental Group. The biggest contributor to litter in the U.S. is miscellaneous paper and plastic, making up 29.8 percent of the total.