Environment

2 Pages 597 Words

Empty Aerosol Cans

The amount of waste buildup will threaten human survival on Earth if its people do not begin to properly manage their waste. Recycling common used items, such as aerosol containers, facilitates a proper waste management system, reduces solid waste buildup, and most importantly, it protects nonrenewable resources used by the steel industry from depletion.
Around the world, the households and industries of today use aerosol containers. People rely on aerosols for paint, deodorizers and cleaners, hairspray, adhesives, and even bug repellent. They are used on a daily basis because aerosol cans offer the most precise and efficient delivery of product to hard to reach places.
The United Kingdom currently recycles just 7.5% of the 600 million aerosol cans that it produces each year. Clearly, people lack awareness of the ability of recycling centers to accommodate aerosol containers. However, the growing public concern over the disposal of solid waste has sparked the promotion of communities to collect empty aerosol containers. The aerosol and steel industry have teamed up to make recycling aerosol containers both efficient and accessible for the consumer and producers of aerosol products. Thousands of communities now include aerosols in both household and curbside buy-back and drop-off programs.
Before the recycling process can begin, the aerosol container must be fully emptied. Otherwise, the propellant could cause dangerous effects when the container is compacted. The consumer will normally empty the container through regular use, as indicated by the aerosol’s instructions. The aerosol industry finely measures the product and propellant so that the consumer exhausts them equally with proper use. If a new can cannot be emptied due to a malfunction, the consumer should return it to its place of purchase. A consumer may also elect to bring a broken or stored aerosol container that can no longer be ...