07.27.16
About 70% of Americans have the opportunity to recycle empty aerosol containers at the curb or at nearby recycling facilities, according to a comprehensive new study. The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA), The Aluminum Association (TAA), the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), and the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute, sponsored the aerosol study, which was part of a broader study of the current household recycling infrastructure focusing on nearly 50 different types of packaging. The study was organized by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), a project of GreenBlue, and conducted by Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) and Moore Recycling Associates.
More than 222 million people in the US (72%) have the ability to recycle aluminum aerosol containers; while over 214 million people stateside (69%) have the opportunity to recycle steel aerosol containers.Only about 10% of the population is served by programs that explicitly or implicitly prohibit the recycling of aerosol containers. The remaining US population either does not have access to any recycling programs or recycling of aerosol containers isn’t mentioned in their consumer education materials.
“Many consumers aren’t sure whether their empty aerosol containers can be recycled,” said CSPA Aerosol Products Division Staff Executive D. Douglas Fratz. “The results of this study demonstrate that most recycling programs are ready, willing and able to recycle empty aerosols, and we will continue working with them to let people know how to do that.”
The study reviewed recycling program availability for more than 2,000 communities representing over 50% of the population of each U.S. state and the US as a whole, and included all of the largest recycling programs. Aerosol products entered the market in the late 1940s and aerosol containers have been an integral part of commercial products ever since.
More than 222 million people in the US (72%) have the ability to recycle aluminum aerosol containers; while over 214 million people stateside (69%) have the opportunity to recycle steel aerosol containers.Only about 10% of the population is served by programs that explicitly or implicitly prohibit the recycling of aerosol containers. The remaining US population either does not have access to any recycling programs or recycling of aerosol containers isn’t mentioned in their consumer education materials.
“Many consumers aren’t sure whether their empty aerosol containers can be recycled,” said CSPA Aerosol Products Division Staff Executive D. Douglas Fratz. “The results of this study demonstrate that most recycling programs are ready, willing and able to recycle empty aerosols, and we will continue working with them to let people know how to do that.”
The study reviewed recycling program availability for more than 2,000 communities representing over 50% of the population of each U.S. state and the US as a whole, and included all of the largest recycling programs. Aerosol products entered the market in the late 1940s and aerosol containers have been an integral part of commercial products ever since.