“This is the very first time that this group has come together in one room,” according to Brenda Pulley, Vice President of Keep America Beautiful and an attendee at Alcoa’s Action to Accelerate Recycling event in Dallas, Texas.  The group of companies, representing more than 70% of the soft drink brands, more than 90% of the glass industry, about 80% of the beer industry, and 100% of the North American can sheet industry, are meeting to carve a path toward higher recycling rates to recover vital secondary raw materials from the waste stream. 

“Our goal is to drive the recycling rate up in the US by 20 points, said Beth Schmitt,” director of recycling programs for Alcoa, the host of the event.  “And we’ll do it- I am confident of that.” Among other strategies, the group is working to drive  a social shift among consumers to make recycling the norm, rather than the exception.

Follow the event at #AAR12

Image: Alcoa Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Kevin Anton, leads an ideation session with leaders from the packaging supply chain.  

More than 90 industry leaders, representing nearly all of the packaging and beverage industries in the U.S. gathered today in Dallas, TX to kick off the Action to Accelerate Recycling Summit, sponsored by Alcoa. Energized and experienced leaders from government, industry and non-governmental organizations began to tackle the issue of how to voluntarily drive recycling rates up by 20 percentage points in the next three years.

"The collective knowledge, experience, and passion for driving recycling rates higher is energizing," said Beth Schmitt, director of recycling programs for Alcoa.  "There's a sense of momentum that's developing here. The companies here know that increasing recycling is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do for our shareholders."

The summit concludes on February 9, with a call to launch an industry-driven program to drive higher recycling rates rapidly to meet demand for recycled content.

DALLAS, TX – Alcoa has convened some 90 leaders in sustainability, packaging leadership, and recycling in Dallas, Texas for an Action to Accelerate Recycling (AAR) Summit to foster innovation and collaboration to drive higher rates for packaging recycling.  Leaders of most of the soft drink and beer industry, packaging manufacturers,  thought leaders on creating social change among consumers, and recycling industry experts will participate in a unique facilitated “System in the Room” event to speed up progress to attain higher recycling rates in the U.S.

“This is not just another conference on recycling,” said Beth Schmitt, director of recycling programs for Alcoa, the largest global aluminum company and one of the largest can recyclers in the world.  “This summit is designed to ignite real change, driven by industry, to achieve one thing:  dramatically higher recycling rates. We want to close the loop on aluminum can recycling in the U.S.”

Be on the lookout for updates here, on facebook and via Twitter (@Alcoa) during the AAR Summit (#AAR12), February 8 and 9, in Dallas, TX. 

Kawneer Architectural Products Featured At Lucas Oil Stadium; Alcoa Foundation Promotes Recycling

Alcoa will be at Super Bowl XLVI this Sunday in Indianapolis, Ind., in more ways than one. The award-winning Lucas Oil Stadium, host site of the Super Bowl football game, features several products made by Alcoa’s Kawneer architectural aluminum products business. Alcoa Foundation is also contributing to the big game by helping the City of Indianapolis “go-green” by encouraging football fans to recycle their aluminum beverage cans.

Every visitor—including the lucky 67,000 fans with Super Bowl tickets—will pass through Kawneer’s 500 Tuffline® brand entrances as they go into the stadium. The Kawneer brand of frames, doors and hardware is designed to withstand high-traffic areas. In addition, more than 225,000 square feet of Kawneer’s curtain wall, which uses glass extensively, provides spectators with a magnificent view of the Indianapolis skyline from their seats.

Kawneer’s mark on Lucas Oil Stadium continues on the interior, where even more entrances and curtain wall systems are featured, as well as Kawneer sliding doors. These recyclable aluminum architectural products were produced at Alcoa plants in Springdale, Arkansas; Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; and Visalia, California.

While Kawneer products have helped with the design of the stadium, Alcoa Foundation is making sure fans have a place to recycle their aluminum beverage cans. Through an Alcoa Foundation grant, the Indiana Recycling Coalition has been working closely with the 2012 Super Bowl Environmental Programs Committee to ”keep score” on recycling. In addition, the investment has enabled the coalition to purchase recycling bins and place them throughout the stadium and other public venues, making it easy for people to dispose of their recyclable aluminum containers responsibly. After the game, the bins will be donated to non-profit groups and youth sports programs in Indiana.

The Alcoa Foundation’s investment focuses on increasing awareness about the infinite recyclability of aluminum beverage cans, while also encouraging greater awareness about recycling “away from home” and “at home” while watching Super Bowl XLVI. The aluminum cans collected and recycled this weekend in Indianapolis and across the U.S. will be back on store shelves in 60 days as new aluminum beverage cans.

About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 10 consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.

About Alcoa Foundation
Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., with assets of approximately US$446 million. Founded more than 50 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than US$550 million since 1952. In 2011, Alcoa Foundation contributed more than US$20 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the world, building innovative partnerships, engaging its people to improve the environment and educating tomorrow’s leaders. The work of Alcoa Foundation is further enhanced by Alcoa’s thousands of employee volunteers who share their energy, passion and purpose to make a difference in the communities where Alcoa operates. Through the company’s signature Month of Service program, in 2011, a record 56 percent of Alcoa employees took part in more than 1,200 events across 24 countries, reaching 81,000 children, serving 9,000 meals, planting 34,000 trees and supporting 1,800 nonprofit organizations. More information can be found at www.alcoafoundation.com.

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Back proposed legislation that promotes safe, sustainable disposal of e-waste and growth of U.S. electronics recycling industry

Washington, DC - The Coalition for American Electronics Recycling (CAER) announced today that Alcoa, the world’s leading aluminum producer, and Waste Management Recycle America, North America’s leading provider of integrated environmental solutions, have joined the alliance. CAER represents U.S. companies that believe electronics recycling should be performed securely and sustainably for the benefit of the American economy.

As members of the Coalition, Waste Management Recycle America and Alcoa endorse passage of the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, introduced last June. This legislation prohibits U.S. export of certain electronic waste (e-waste) to developing countries that lack safeguards to protect the environment and workers, and supports the expansion of the U.S. recycling industry.

“The addition of industry leading cornerstone organizations such as Waste Management and Alcoa is further proof of a growing consensus that the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act is good for business and will create much-needed jobs and enhance sustainability,” said John Shegerian, Co-founder and President, Electronic Recyclers International (ERI) and CAER steering committee member. “Our members are committed to growing an American industry with the capacity to manage e-waste generated within our borders and the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs in every part of the country. We’re extremely proud to have Waste Management and Alcoa join alongside us to support this crucial alliance.”

“Waste Management Recycle America is excited to join with fellow members of the e-waste community in pushing for passage of this bill. We believe strongly in limiting the export of hazardous electronic waste,” said Bill Caesar, president of WM Recycle America. “Waste Management continues to grow the eCycling business that is critical to reaching our goal of managing more than 20 million tons of recyclables each year by 2020.”

“Alcoa’s partnership with the largest electronics recycler in the U.S., Electronic Recyclers International, provides both an economic and environmental solution to e-waste,” said Kevin Anton, Alcoa Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. “Aluminum use in the consumer electronics industry is growing rapidly due to its unique properties as an infinitely recyclable, light weight and heat conductive material. Alcoa is driving sustainable practices by supporting the reuse of aluminum and other materials across the consumer electronics industry.”

With the addition of Alcoa and Waste Management, CAER now includes 48 companies with facilities in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Visit the CAER website for a complete member list.

CAER is committed to growing an American industry with the capacity to manage the volume of e-waste generated within its borders, creating good jobs and expanded trade. For more information about HR 2284/SB1270, visit the CAER website, which includes links to the full text of each bill.

When the television show Extreme Makeover-Home Edition came to Knoxville, Tennessee, to renovate a home this week, Alcoa Recycling picked up its tools and volunteered its services along with local construction contractors and laborers. Alcoa’s “tools” came in the form of donating water in recyclable aluminum cans and recycling bins for the job site.

“Special events such as ‘Extreme Makeover – Home Edition’ provide great opportunities to reinforce the importance of recycling,” said Beth Schmitt, director of recycling programs for Alcoa.

The recycling bins are used for on-site collection of cans and bottles at the EMHE work site, the catering venues, and the VIP tent.

“Recycling should be an everyday activity that’s as automatic as wearing a seatbelt when you get into a car,” Schmitt continued. “Our contribution of these collection bins for the Extreme Makeover – Home Edition team is a small way to reinforce the idea that aluminum cans are too valuable to waste, regardless of where they are consumed.”

Cans and bottles collected at the work site will be recycled by Waste Connections, the recycling provider which manages the City of Knoxville’s new curbside recycling program which kicked off late last year. Waste Connections will also outfit the new home with a single stream cart for easy and continuous recycling after the project is complete.

The environmental effect of recycling the cans at the job site is almost immediate. An aluminum can goes from consumption, to being recycled into a new can, to being returned to a consumer's hand for consumption again in less than 60 days using only 5 percent of the energy it took to create the can originally.”

The Knoxville family whose home was chosen for the Extreme Makeover is Daniel and Mandy Watson and their three adopted children. The Watsons were selected because of their work with Restoration House of East Tennessee, a non-profit organization that helps low-income, single mothers with a place to stay and the tools to succeed in life.

The build began January 10, and will continue 24-hours around the clock for about a week until the home is rebuilt. More than 3,000 local volunteers are donating everything from labor, to supplies, to recycling services and canned water to help with the project. The episode is schedule to air around Thanksgiving weekend, 2012.

Kudos to the NHL, who kicked off the new year with the expansion of a tailgate recycling initiative, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), to reduce the carbon footprint of the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®.

Hockey fans tailgating before the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic last week were encouraged to participate in recycling efforts outside Citizens Bank Park.  The Pennsylvania Resources Council, as part of the existing Recycle-A-Lot campaign in Philadelphia, will collect aluminum cans, glass containers, and plastic bottles and cups throughout stadium parking areas. 

Tailgating fans received green recycling bags from parking attendants and roving Recycle-A-Lot Squad teams. They filled the bags with recyclables, tied and left them next to their vehicles before heading to the game, and Recycle-A-Lot Squad teams collected the full bags for recycling after game-time.  Sweet!

Faster than a speeding puck, those aluminum cans will be recycled.  An  aluminum can goes from consumption, to being recycled into a new can, back into a consumer's hand for consumption again in less than 60 days.

Cans are the container of choice at tailgates, and its important take care of recycling whether you are enjoying a game at home or away from home!

The 2012 NHL Winter Classic® tailgate recycling initiative is sponsored by PRC and funded by the Alcoa Foundation, with support from the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Wells Fargo Center, Central Parking System and The Lot Squad LLC. 

For more info, go to:   http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=607768

From all of us at Alcoa, happy holidays and warmest wishes for a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Click here to view Alcoa's Holiday Greetings 2011, and please share with friends!

Students at Penn Trafford High School (Pittsburgh, PA) in the AP Physics class (class of 2012) took the idea of making a “recycle tree" from the Alcoa web site to school.  Classmates and the teacher were excited to give it a try.  Below is the photo.  It looks pretty good!  Best of all, it was a good “team building” exercise for everyone… it was a group effort!!! We've since learned they are adding lights to the tree.  What a great idea!  To learn how you, your family, classmates or friends can build your very own CAN tree, please check out the link below (includes video and instructions). 

How to build your CAN tree

With the holiday season upon us, many consumers began their preparations on the busiest shopping day of the year – Black Friday on Nov. 25. On Black Friday, consumer electronics were among the most sought-after items, according to a Consumer Electronics Association report.  During the holiday shopping season, Alcoa, the world’s leading aluminum producer, is reminding shoppers to keep these tips in mind when purchasing consumer electronics. Green your gift giving this year.

What to Know Before You Shop

1. First, determine whether or not your electronic device still has any value or if someone else may be able to find value in it. If you can no longer find a use for it, look for an electronics recycler in your area using a resource such as Greener Gadgets, which allows you to view a list of nationwide manufacturer, retailer and certified electronics recycling programs in your area by zip code. Recycling aluminum uses 95 percent less energy and produces 95 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than making metal from new materials!


2. With aluminum, your electronics will always be cool… and stay cool. Because aluminum is more efficient at transferring heat than plastic and has better thermal management overall, devices made with the material can save energy. For example, an aluminum laptop is not only more energy efficient than plastic, but the battery life can be up to 20 percent longer. So, keep this in mind if you have your eye on a new smart phone, laptop or flat panel TV.


3. When shopping for new a new LCD TV,be sure to take a look at those models that use aluminum for back-panels. The light weight and high strength of aluminum make these TVs ideal for mounting directly on a wall. The improved strength, slimmer design and better cooling performance make these models the green choice.


4. Lighter is better. Electronic products made with aluminum parts, are not only infinitely recyclable, but these products will be much lighter in weight, allowing you to easily transport and move your device. Aluminum also allows for that hip metallic finish – the look and feel that consumers love.


5. Tablets and Aluminum. Not surprisingly, tablets are a wildly popular item on wish lists this year and tablets made with aluminum have certainly become a rising trend as well. Aluminum is the material of choice for many of these devices because it enables a slimmer, sleeker design, lighter overall weight, and comes with the added bonus of its recyclability. Be sure not to miss these!

For more tips on recycling and how to turn your holiday shopping green, visit www.alcoa.com/recycling.