Considering how aluminum is one of the most common metals found at home, at the office, or even at a construction yard, it's important that any scrap sheets, cans, and wires are disposed of properly. This is why we at Elgin Recycling & Scrap Metal offer aluminum recycling services. Whether you're a homeowner, a business owner, or a contractor, you can rest assured that any aluminum waste you have has a proper place to be sent and can even help you earn a couple of bucks or more.

Aluminum is the most abundant metal and the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Aluminum's known history dates back to 1787 when scientists suspected that an unknown metal existed but they had no way of extracting it. In 1825, Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish chemist, was the first to produce tiny amounts of the metal. He accomplished this by heating anhydrous aluminum chloride with potassium amalgam and distilling off the mercury. Later, scientists were able to refine the process of extracting aluminum, thus increasing the availability of the metal. Today, aluminum is the most widely used non-ferrous metal. Aluminum is almost always alloyed with other elements in order to improve or change its characteristics for a particular application. Aluminum has a wide variety of uses from transportation to construction to electrical.

Because of these facts, it's important to realize how aluminum will never run out of uses. In fact, even torn sheets or wrappers, flimsy wires, and dented frames can be sent to an aluminum recycling center where they can undergo proper processing and be sold to companies that require the metal for construction and industrial purposes.

When you recycle aluminum, note that this means more than aluminum can recycling. Here are other examples of aluminum scrap types you can send to a recycling center:

• Siding
• Beverage Cans
• Electrical Wire
• Extrusions
• Cast
• Dross
• Turnings
• Litho
• Bare Wire
• Radiators
• Wheels
• Clips
• Sheet
• Transmissions
• Window Frames
• Household Items

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or provides enough energy to power a television for three hours.

Stop by and drop off your aluminum and other scrap metals at one of our scrap metal recycling centers today or, for those with heavy loads or industrial accounts, call or click here to schedule a pickup. We provide free full-service trucking for eligible loads.