More than US$1 billion worth of aluminium cans are sent to US landfills each year, representing around 11 million MWh of wasted energy, according to waste intelligence company Greyparrot. In 2023, around 61 billion of the 107 billion cans shipped in the US ended up in landfills, leaving the country with an aluminium can recycling rate of about 43%.
The losses come as the US remains heavily dependent on imported aluminium. Greyparrot cited 2025 trade data showing US$26.5 billion in aluminium imports, with net imports accounting for around 60% of US supply. With recycled aluminium requiring around 95.5% less energy than primary production, improving used beverage can collection and recovery could provide an additional source of domestic secondary aluminium feedstock while reducing energy demand.
