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Every day, Americans use enough steel and tin cans to make
a steel pipe running from Los Angeles to New York and back. |
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37 billion steel cans weighing 2,654,892 tons were used
in the U.S. in 1991. |
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97% of all steel cans are used for food. |
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The average American uses 142 steel cans per year. |
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About 11.5 million tons of ferrous (e.g., steel and iron)
waste was generated in the U.S. in 1994. |
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Americans throw away enough iron and steel to continuously
supply the nation's automakers. |
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Ferrous metals constituted 5.5% of the 1994 U.S. municipal
solid waste stream by weight. |
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In 1994, approximately 53.1% of all steel cans
and 27.8% of steel packaging materials, such as strapping, were
recycled. The overall rate of ferrous metal recovery was about
25.2%. |
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Steel food and beverage cans are recycled into a variety
of products including new cans, bicycle frames, and even new
cars. |