ALUMINIUM has a heavy manufacturing footprint. It takes a lot of energy to mine bauxite ore from the earth and then process it – producing one ton of aluminium requires 170 million thermal units of energy and produces about 12 tons of carbon dioxide.

The smelting process is highly electricity energy-intensive – most smelters are located next to major power sources, often coalfields or oilfields. More than 50 per cent of world primary aluminium production is in China, so there’s a transport carbon footprint, too.

So, what can we do about our use of aluminium to lessen its impact. Re-use is one straightforward option. You can re-use foil at home by washing it and straightening it out, saving you money, too.

Recycling saves more than 90 million tonnes of CO2 annually, requiring up to 95 per cent less energy than smelting – that is just enough to re-melt the aluminium. Some 75 per cent of all aluminium ever produced – that is since 1855 – is still in productive use thanks to recycling. There is no limit to the number of times aluminium can be recycled – there is no loss of quality.

The BIG difference between primary production – smelting – and recycling is that smelting also emits more than half the world’s carbon tetrafluoride, CF4. This is a greenhouse gas which, litre-for-litre, packs a 100-year atmospheric warming punch that is 7,390 times that of carbon dioxide. If that wasn’t enough, its atmospheric lifetime – analogous to a radioactivity half-life – is 50,000 years. In contrast, there are zero emissions of this gas with recycling.

It is imperative that we recycle all the foil, takeaway cartons, tins and cans we use, by simply rinsing them at the end of your washing up and putting it outside for curbside collection. We have an amazing facility in Somerset, let’s make sure we all use it!

For your reference the IAI – International Aluminium Institute – www.world-aluminium.org – is a great source of information and is working hard to reduce aluminium’s carbon footprint.

PROFESSOR MIKE CZERNIAK

AND HELEN GILLINGHAM