This article introduces a new aluminum soda can that is composed of up to 90% recycled aluminum. This can is cheaper, much better for the environment, and requires as little as 5% of the energy needed to make a standard aluminum can (mined from bauxite, a limited mineral), yet none of the large beverage companies are taking advantage of this product. Major limitations in the advancement of this product seem to be the dominant use of plastic bottles over cans, and the companies’ reluctance to commit to a single aluminum provider.
Industry documents from this time show that just a couple of years earlier, starting in 1989, oil and plastics executives began a quiet campaign to lobby almost 40 states to mandate that the symbol appear on all plastic — even if there was no way to economically recycle it. Some environmentalists also supported the symbol, thinking it would help separate plastic. Art Attackk