Aluminium Energy-Saving in School Car Park

Collecting Aluminium cans and foil

Since the summer term, lots of us have separating our Aluminium Cans and Foil and placing it in the big bin at the front of the school. Last week our keen collectors noticed the bin was full. The contents were checked, removed and crushed energetically by the children then put into bags. Except for a couple of rouge steel cans and few bits of litter, it was pure aluminium.

This was taken to the Scrap Metal Merchants from where it will be recycled and will be made into new cans. In about six weeks they could be back in the Lantern ready to be used again,

Recycling = Energy-Saving

We had collected 15 Kg of aluminium. Recycled aluminium is 20 times more efficient than extracting it from the ground. Aluminium production is very energy intensive and uses 3% of the world’s electricity. So Recycling saves destructive mining, energy uses a tiny fraction of the electricity, avoids long distance transport and a considerable amount of waste. If everyone in the world recycled all of their aluminium to the max an estimated 100 power stations could be turned off.

Even RWS’s 15 Kg will save enough electricity to drive an electric car from RWS to the Edinburgh Steiner School. We have found a local eco-company very keen to encourage more recycling and they have taken the £6 we collected for the scrap and multiplied it by 10, So we now have £60 added to the school funds. What’s more, they would like to donate £1000 over the rest of the school year. That means we need to fill the big bin 15 times by next summer.

You too!

This is something everyone can do, all you need is to take cans and foil out of your household waste and recycling and post them into the BIG aluminium bin at the front of the school. It’s easy to ask Friends and Family to join in.

I estimate every 5 days 1 tonne of aluminium is used in Ringwood. That means we only need to collect 2 hours of waste aluminium from Ringwood to fill the bin!

Thanks

James (Class 7 & 9 Parent)