Can Facts
There are a lot of misconceptions about food packaged in cans. We hope that these facts will help our consumers understand how safe, nutritious and flavorful canned foods can be and that canned foods should be an integral part of your life.
Fact #01: The steel can is the most recycled food container in the U.S.!
• http://www.cancentral.com/sustainability/CMI_Sustainability_Deck_Web.pdf
Metals can be recycled without loss of their metallurgic properties and can be used again and again to form new packaging and other products. The steel can recycling rate has risen from 15% in 1988 to 67% in 2010. [ 1, 2] In 2005, 18 million steel cans were recycled, which is more than 1.4 million tons of steel.[3]
1 http://www.epa.gov/osw/facts-text.htm
2 http://www.recycle-steel.org/Recycling%20Resources/Steel%20Recycling%20Rates.aspx
Fact #02: Steel cans, such as this one, can be recycled endlessly without losing strength or quality!
• http://www.cancentral.com/recSteel.cfm
• http://www.apeal.org/en/steel-for-packaging
• http://www.empac.eu/s/PreciousFuture/Planet/PermanentMaterial
• http://industrytoday.com/article_view.asp?ArticleID=F378
• http://www.metalpackagingeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/Sustainable-Materials-and-Sustainable-Resources1.pdf
Because metal is able to be recycled over-and-over again, it is the only material that is considered to be a closed-loop packaging material. Other materials such as plastic and paper degrade as they are recycled, but because the atoms in metal are linked by metallic bonds, it never degrades.
• http://www.empac.eu/s/PreciousFuture/Planet/Recycling
• http://lifecyclecenter.se/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/2001_15.pdf
• http://www.metalpackagingeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/Sustainable-Materials-and-Sustainable-Resources1.pdf
Fact #03: Recycling seven steel cans saves enough energy to power a 60-Watt light bulb for 26 hours!
• http://www.cancentral.com/pdf/SteelCanFoodFacts.pdf
• http://www.tatasteeleurope.com/en/responsibility/cspr/recycling_steel_packaging/facts_and_figures/
The average food can weighs about 1.4 ounces, so seven steel cans is a little more than half a pound of steel.
Fact #04: For every ton of steel recycled, approximately 1 ½ tons of iron ore and 1 ½ tons of coal are saved!
• http://www.mpma.org.uk/pages/pv.asp?p=mpma68
About 40 pounds of limestone is also saved and so are greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil fuels burned by the machines used to extract the iron ore, coal and limestone from the ground.[1, 2]
1 http://www.windfieldalloy.com/faqs.htm
2 http://www.epa.gov/sectors/pdf/2008/iron_steel.pdf
Fact #05: Every steel product contains recycled steel.
• http://www.worldsteel.org/dms/internetDocumentList/bookshop/Steel-and-You-2010/document/Steel%20and%20You.pdf
• http://www.recycle-steel.org/en/Recycling%20Resources/~/media/Files/SRI/Media%20Center/LEEDNov09.ashx
The steel industry is one of the most sustainability driven industries in the world. The steel industry, globally, spends more than €12 billion annually on improving the manufacturing process, new product development and future breakthrough technologies. [2] It was the only significant U.S. industry that reduced total energy consumption while increasing production from 1990 to 2008![4] Steel is the only material in the world that guarantees to have recycled content.[3]
1 http://www.steel.org/Sustainability.aspx
2 http://www.worldsteel.org/media-centre/key-facts.html
3 http://www.worldsteel.org/dms/internetDocumentList/bookshop/Steel-and-You-2010/document/Steel%20and%20You.pdf
4 http://industrytoday.com/article_view.asp?ArticleID=F378
Fact #06: For every ton of steel recycled, approximately 1 ½ tons of iron ore and 1 ½ tons of coal are saved
• http://www.mpma.org.uk/pages/pv.asp?p=mpma68
About 40 pounds of limestone is also saved and so are greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil fuels burned by the machines used to extract the iron ore, coal and limestone from the ground.[1, 2]
1 http://www.windfieldalloy.com/faqs.htm
2 http://www.epa.gov/sectors/pdf/2008/iron_steel.pdf
Fact #07: One year of recycled steel in the U.S. saves enough energy to heat and light 18 million homes!
• http://www.ditc-eef.org/pdfs/Steel.pdf
• http://www.cancentral.com/recSteel.cfm
• http://www.epa.gov/sectors/pdf/2008/iron_steel.pdf
According to the EPA, in 2010, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 11,496 kWh. Multiply 18 million by 11,496 and you have the amount of kWh saved.
Fact #08: Every minute 20,000 steel cans are recycled in the U.S.!
• http://www.cancentral.com/recSteel.cfm
• The magnetic properties of steel are very beneficial in recycling efforts. Because steel is magnetic, it makes for an easy and economical way to sort and recover in the recycling process.
Fact #09: Almost 200 billion cans of food are produced each year!
Even in America, fifty million people struggle to find their next meal. With this many cans of food, and the amount of fresh and frozen food produced in the U.S., no one should go hungry. Go to feedingamerica.org to find a place in your town to donate your canned food.
To get the latest recipes, meal plans and special offers subscribe to our email list.
FEATURED
PRODUCT
String Beans
Glory Foods premium Green Beans are slow simmered with onions, garlic & spices in a bacon-flavored broth. Learn More »
