scope:

PREFACE

For decades, the aluminum industry has made a strong, sustained contribution to the American economy. The U.S. aluminum supply is comprised of three basic sources - domestic primary production, domestic recycled production, and imports. Since 1984, recycled aluminum has been the fastest growing segment of the total supply.

As the use of aluminum has grown, the industry has become a pioneer in the field of recycling, earning worldwide recognition as a leader in materials recovery. In fact, as of 1997, over one-third of the total U.S. aluminum supply is provided through recycling. It is this industry - aluminum recycling - that is the focus of this Casebook.

This makes aluminum the leading recoverable material in the country with numbers so significant that aluminum recycling has become an industry unto itself.

Designed to support even greater achievements in aluminum recovery, the Casebook offers substantive information on history, markets, processes, equipment, regulations and technical issues. The Casebook examines the recovery of aluminum from many different sources, including metal scrap, municipal refuse, automobiles, industrial sources, and post-consumer products.

From an overview of the economic and environmental impact of aluminum recycling to key issues, the Casebook makes it easy to gain a current perspective on where the industry stands and where it's heading.