Rexam's Full Circle film - the lifecycle of an aluminium can

Full Circle is an educational film that explains the can making process, its distribution and what happens to it once used.
The fact is, the aluminium can is 100% and infinitely recyclable. A can that is on the retailers' shelves tomorrow, if recycled can be back on the shelf again as a new can in as little as 60 days.

[@Formulka]

engineerguy brought me here, I wasn't disappointed, well done :)

[@UmpikLumpik]

Same here :-)

[@goofyahhuncleproductions42069]

SAME BRO

[@JoshuaPTFan]

engineerguy's video: The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can kzbin.info/www/bejne/nobLmqafZ6t1q9k

[@film57r7]

Same

[@joshualower6947]

me too

[@somanken]

wow, not often you find something that's both a nice educational tool and a subtle advert without ruining itself in the process.

[@sethberkenbosch3089]

the ideal sponsored content

[@AliAli-di5hl]

Seth Berkenbosch قران

[@hg2.]

Bravo ! I came here by way of The Engineer Guy.

[@lukasvavrich3349]

exactly! I never thought how enormous amount of ingeeering went into these little objects, even thought I use them on daily basis.

[@trolloler5954]

Ikr, it takes a lot of *ingeeering*

[@Kneedragon1962]

It might be worth mentioning that about 80% of the cost of Al is in electricity use. Bauxite is very common, and quite cheap. But smelting it into usable aluminium takes a lot of electricity. Recycling it takes some as well, but not anywhere near as much is refining raw bauxite.

[@d.jensen5153]

Yes. The narrator makes a mistake at 5:19 when he talks about the 95% energy savings from recycling vs making cans from virgin metal. He should have said ore. Once you have the virgin metal, the tremendous amount of electrical power required to reduce Al2O3 to Al has already been spent.

[@w0ttheh3ll]

besides the electrical energy required for making alu metal, refining the ore produces large quantities of toxic chemical waste known as "red mud".

[@RossABQ]

That's why most aluminum refining plants are close to hydroelectric power, or nuclear power

[@MikelSyn]

@@RossABQ they also use so much electricity that they tend to have a special agreement with utility companies, offering to perform demand management (slowing down or reducing production rate) when needed in return for cheaper electricity.

[@vive335]

Horrifying, this is why the earth is so polluted

[@OlOleander]

Thanks engineerguy for pointing us this way. This was actually really, really cool! Such a well-produced animation.

[@JLanc1982]

I used to work at a Aluminum recycling plant. We would melt scrap and roll coil to various thicknesses. Every now and then I would walk through the scrap (incoming) dept,anything made of aluminum would show up. Soda cans,stamping blanks,siding,airplane scraps a hodgepodge of aluminum pretty amazing at times!

[@leogama3422]

How do you separate metals for recycling (beyond magnetic separation) at scale?

[@MadbencoFS]

I'm A Proud REXAM Employee. As An Electronic Technician, We Stay Very Busy Keeping The Machinery and Robotics Running.

[@mrboggs7037]

Mad Benco thats awesome

[@mikenolan4871]

I too worked for Rexam as an ET. I retired 5 years ago and this video takes me back. It was a great company to work for!

[@Twister051]

Well, I "love" soda so thanks for what you do.

[@xxxdpgxxxx1389]

Any tips on the bench test for production technician?

[@Matticitt]

Next time you're driving your $100.000 luxury car think about how it used to be a coca-cola can.

[@mortvald]

Or a metal rod in toilet (used as a lever to stop the water from filling infinitely).

[@gmansplit]

Yes, because the entire car was made of a single Coke can. Leather, wood, plastic and all.

[@gmansplit]

Sensual Armpit I was commenting on his poor word choice.

[@RudeMcNasty]

Somebody who can afford $100,000 dollar luxury vehicle, Is not watching KZbin.

[@greenmario3011]

*100,000

[@MoonLiteNite]

I always thought the company who fills the can also makes it. There must be some nice deals going on since Rexam does the painting for their customers!

[@144ADT]

Chris Banana Some do and they purchase the equipment from companies like REXAM etc.. I worked for REXAM(ANC at that time) in their EMD facility building Body makers, necker flangers, spray machines, fluters etc.. My father worked for them for 30yrs and was the head of R&D for beer/beverage ends at the time of his retirement.

[@geoffcunningham6823]

Something I've ignored for years - yet thinking about it and seeing videos like these, you realize how awesome aluminium drinks cans are. Good job, engineers!

[@sweetmamaschili4051]

This is an example of good advertising. It’s an intriguing subject that has proven to have a market through the success of How It’s Made and it uses that format to educate the consumer on how their product is created and where it goes after you’ve used it. It also is able to show the fact that they’re keen on recycling. 10/10, who ever pitched this needs to get a raise.

[@dimepag]

Karhu Beer (Finland) spotted @ 2:20 !!! :)

[@muranziel]

Torille!

[@MarleySkunk]

steissille siis!

[@eeromakinen4222]

Dimepag Barrell olin sille et hetkine oliko toi karhua voi oonko niin janone et nään kangastuksia

[@DjZorlag]

Tuli kyllä ihan puskista. :D

[@aidenzorn8322]

I always thought recycling was more to avoid running out of the materials and reducing trash, but I’m very surprised to learn just how much energy it saves to use recycled materials

[@hrvstmn31]

In the states, well the one I grew up in they've been teaching it so long I remember them using CRT tv's running time as an analogue for how much energy was saved.

[@leogama3422]

It depends on material cost and how many times it can be recycled. Also, most recycled versions of materials can't be used for all purposes, some have only niche applications... I'm talking from a pure cost-profit standpoint.

[@leogama3422]

*THIS* is a smart industry! Something the humanity should be very proud of. Sadly, not all countries and, inside a country, not all regions recycle aluminium cans as much as they could.

[@graemeroberts2935]

Superb animation! Thank you.

[@jnorth6022]

This is what I call educational and inspiring material. More companies should be able to tell a great story like this. Thank you!

[@sombrero67270]

great video I LOVE ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS AND CANS SPECIFICALLY

[@CaptainEverythingHumorandMore]

Very well done. Thanks

[@Emmaboyy]

Well this is a rabbit hole I never thought I would go down.

[@xl000]

Thank you for pronouncing aluminium the right way. I don't know why the second I vanished in American English

[@itsyaboigalaxium]

For a 8 year old video, this is still better than some of the newer ones.

[@bennynortheast1328]

Came here from a video by engineerguy. Found this very informative to improve my knowedges of manufacturing processess. Currently studying first year of my Advanced Diploma at RMIT University.

[@rayray6548]

engineerguy brought me here... great job guys thank you for the knowledge dropping.

[@babyboycain908]

Just as you started there , you will end there. All the good I can say about Rexam!

[@baldpipesmoker1]

What a great invention! 😃👍

[@PlXNIN]

Utterly Awesome!!

[@Paul-A01]

Thanks Rexam, next time I want a drink, I'll be sure to reach for an aluminum can.

[@jojoeifler6175]

Now that's some ingenious design

[@martinlintzgy1361]

I'm here thanks to engineering guy. And I'm proud when I discovered rexam is a UK company.

[@andyjohnson4907]

That's a very odd thing to be proud of.

[@jerair]

Good ol' alyuminyum.

[@DjZorlag]

Yeah. Today it's only alyuminum. :(

[@dragonhealer7588]

Didn't mention the very high purity of metal required to draw aluminum that thin. It is why aluminum cans are worth the most in the scrap aluminum business. (Some special alloys excepted)

[@batuhangebedek2421]

I love this video. This is a very usefull video if someone wants to learn something about soda can. When I watch this video, I wonder that spray coating process. Which materials do you use for spray coating and which temperature do you prefer for curing operation? If you reply my question, you made me happiest person in the world.

[@FlowRyan]

That HTML code though.

[@xl000]

maybe the factory is controlled with a webservice or something.

[@SimonNitzsche]

A needed list Coffee Black Tea Green Tea

[@juancarlosabad3298]

irrelevant comment for a wonderful informational , educational and professionally produced video...

[@afiqahmatnor]

very helping dude.

[@EricBishard]

I love how the animation in the printing section at 2:02 shows code in the background, somehow I don't believe that any part of the manufacturing process involves ordered and unordered lists in HTML, as well, check out that doctype! lol Pretty sure the motion graphics designer was like, let's get some code for the background, I know, W3Schools! www.w3schools.com/html/tryit.asp?filename=tryhtml_lists_unordered www.w3schools.com/html/tryit.asp?filename=tryhtml_lists_ordered

[@danieltx7066]

we don’t know… maybe they hacked the mainframe, uploaded the downlink, and cross-validated the kilobytes. do that, and you’re in.

[@SilverDog-zl9wm]

Its impressive how much engineering has gone into a process we take for granted every day. Where do you see the opportunities for further improving efficiency or reducing waste?

[@144ADT]

Michael Brooks very mature product design. There are some opportunities out there for product improvement and differentiation. Most improvements will come through material reduction(down gauging) and process efficiency. If you can save 5cents per 1000 cans you can pay for millions and some times tens of millions of dollars in new equipment. A single end line can run as high as $25M start to finish.

[@Cobra427Veight]

Can making is really big if your in that type of job , look up Soudronic a big Swiss company full 3 piece can line equipment , and body blank welders like , soucan 870fb.

[@andyjohnson4907]

For the Americans confused about the British pronunciation of aluminium, we actually spell it that way. There's a really interesting story about how it got its different names, which you should check out. And for those of you that think it sounds silly, here is a list of other silly sounding elements (please excuse the percentages, I copied the list and couldn't be bothered to go through and remove them): C Calcium, Cadmium, Californium, Cerium, C(a)esium, Chromium, Copernicium, Curium 90.3% H Helium, Hafnium, Hassium, Holmium 86.4% B Barium, Berkelium, Beryllium, Bohrium 85.3% A Americium, Actinium, Aluminium (UK) 81.8% L Lithium, Livermorium, Lutetium, Lawrencium 81.8% E Europium, Einsteinium, Erbium 80.4% P Potassium, Palladium, Polonium, Praseodymium, Promethium, Protactinium, Plutonium 80.4% U Uranium 79.8% S Sodium, Selenium, Seaborgium, Scandium, Samarium, Strontium 78.9% R Radium, Rhenium, Rhodium, Roentgenium, Ruthenium, Rubidium, Rutherfordium 78.7% G Gallium, Germanium, Gadolinium 75.6% T Titanium, Thorium, Thallium, Thulium, Terbium, Tellurium, Technetium 75.4% M Magnesium, Mendelevium, Meitnerium, Moscovium 75% I Indium, Iridium 72.9% F Francium, Fermium, Flerovium 72.5% Y Yttrium, Ytterbium 72.1% Z Zirconium 69% V Vanadium 68% O Osmium 64.3% D Dubnium, Darmstadtium, Dysprosium 63% N Niobium, Nobelium, Neodymium, Neptunium, Nihonium 62.8

[@leogama3422]

And thats also the way most languages call it...

[@topten7064]

Its amazing

[@zhangjiagangrachelmachiner5095]

really cool

[@JuhizVlogs]

Karhu nähty, Torille!

[@danieltx7066]

cool video, but I sure do think of re/max when I see your logo. at what point of the process is the colored printing on the outside and the coating on the inside removed? at the washing stage, or is it burned off at smelting?

[@veepari]

2:22 Karhu S U O M I B O Y S

[@unvergebeneid]

Wait, does the smelting or the rolling part use "largely renewable energy supplies"?

[@johnarmstrong5474]

Penny Lane Smelting. www.alcoa.com/greenland/en/home.asp for example.

[@mediocre-motorcycle-modifi6818]

I want to see how it's filled!

[@placeholder2924]

4:20 this madlad just finished his whole can in three gulps

[@vasyan123]

Nice cans

[@AmstradExin]

well made

[@kegandsouza4536]

I dont think I have ever enjoyed a company talking to me as much as this, thanks rexam

[@jca111]

I wonder why HTML lists of Tea, Coffee and Milk are important in the manufacture of Aluminium cans?

[@juancarlosabad3298]

irrelevant comment for a wonderful informational , educational and professionally produced video...

[@ydoomenaud]

I was hoping to see the process by which the lids are sealed to the bodies after filling (and how this works with noncarbonated beverages where apparently nitrogen is added) but otherwise neat video

[@charliefischer59]

what happens to the printing on the can once it's recycled. does it just burn off or does it have to be washed?

[@aguyfromnothere]

You can throw an aluminum can on the street or anywhere you want and it will be in a new can in less than 3 months. It’s amazing.

[@JDnBeastlet]

Good video, but it skipped over process of fitting the lid and forming the seal. Good thing engineerguy covered that.

[@duxtorm]

Is this the most wholesome mass production company? XD

[@ebipackaging]

GOOD!

[@MutayyibAli]

Which software did you use to make this presentation?

[@nightmarishendeavors]

The pull tab was invented in Dayton Ohio where I am from by E.C. Fraze in 1963.

[@diegoo.3403]

Interesting video, though the bit saying aluminum is as good as new every time it is not entirely true, in the sense that though it is true Al stays Al, the amount of impurities of recycled material may be too expensive or too difficult to remove. I was thinking about some industries as aeronautics were they only use first-produced aluminum, and of course they use different, very specific alloys including Mg, Cu, Mn etc. But for the case of can production probably it's right and it can be an endless cycle of recycling provided we got the energy to do it.

[@ndudman8]

And the waste products from the aluminum can be added to our drinking water which is a great way to get rid of them :)

[@lalski08]

I want to know if the inner coating has nano technology ? will I get an answer ???

[@Riku0990]

The can prints being quality checked at 2:19 are Finnish "Karhu" (="Bear") 33cl beer cans which are extremely ubiquitous here 😏🐻🍺 upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Karhu.jpg

[@wilfredralphgomez8325]

How about the prints in the can when it is melted? does it affect the recycled aluminium ingots metal properties?

[@syn010110]

+wilfred ralph Gomez Just burns off the molten aluminium.

[@patatamas9158]

So much hassle to be able to turn some liquid into piss.

[@vizthex]

well, if they didn't do this you couldn't drink that nice refreshing Dr. Pepper.

[@Zejjnt]

What's the title of the first track used as background music?

[@vive335]

But what about the plastic inside the can or the colored labels on the outside of the can? Wouldn’t they tint the recycling by staining the ingots?

[@stonkeng]

For major users of cans it would be better if they formed the cans on site. Seems to me there are a lot of lorries delivering mainly fresh air to the drinks manufacturers.

[@LetBBB6345789]

What happens to the paint on the aluminium when cans are recycled? In the engineering guy video they were talking 70% recycle rate, here 95%, how come or which is true (as in technically possible per can)?

[@bgodley504]

How do they transport the cans without them becoming contaminated?

[@CalebFaulkner]

+Orange Chicken They are probably steam sterilized under high heat at the filling location prior to filling.

[@tarstarkusz]

+Caleb Faulkner Couldn't that damage the varnish coating inside the can?

[@maj212212]

+tarstarkusz They're coated with an epoxy lacquer. Since epoxy is a thermosetting polymer it's resistant to relatively high temperatures.

[@tarstarkusz]

+csiApok Thanks.

[@CorkScrewDood]

If only my town kept up with recycle bins, now they just don't issue trucks to take them anymore.

[@SurfingTubes]

How is it filled and pressurized ?

[@arcrius4]

So if the can is sealed before it reaches their customers, how do their customers fill it?

[@1r0zz]

+Hank Hill cans and caps reaches the customers separately, then are filled and they seal them.

[@Twister051]

I am surprised that the cans and can tops are sprayed with the coating/liner inside the can long before the top is mated to the body, even before shipping. Why aren't they concerned about something getting inside the cans before it is filled and the top put on? I mean, I'm sure they are concerned but how do they prevent foreign objects and debris?

[@ArtStoneUS]

The spray is to protect the acidic contents from dissolving the aluminium. The finished cans are put into pallets that are wrapped with plastic.

[@Bundalaba]

So the drinks are just poured in? How do they pressurize it ?

[@ArtStoneUS]

The liquid is at a low temperature and the carbon dioxide is dissolved in the liquid under pressure. At room temperature, the CO2 comes out of solution until it reaches an equilibrium of pressure.

[@Leotique]

Engineeringguy recommended us this video.

[@killuminatii1]

Imagine being a mechanic in that factory. One error on the high speed production line... STRESS

[@paviachristensen9256]

3:40 Nothing better then a cold Carlsberg :D

[@mencibenci]

a can doesn’t chill faster, the aluminium just *feels* colder to the touch due to how our sensation of touch works, but the liquid inside will feel the same temperature, because it *is* the same temperature.

[@tedtenny]

They don't show how they put the top on after filling. The EngineeringGuy show a double crimped seam with a gasket. The filling operation and crimping is a "weak" point in the operation where the contents of the can may be influenced by the manufacturing process and causing some contamination. I believe this was cleverly avoided. Any ideas?

[@disculpa]

+Ted T I'm guessing the company that fills the can with fluid is the one that seals it, not Rexam..

[@tc9634]

This is why I hate how snobby people get about drinking out of a glass bottle. Glass is heavier, weaker, it's brittle, it shatters, when can still be used as a weapon whereas only the lip of a can is sharp enough to injure someone

[@SmokedHam444]

I've got dozens of those lids. Does anyone know what I could do with them?

[@144ADT]

By lids do you mean ends?? Put them in a recycle bin.

[@georgesracingcar7701]

Make a sculpture with them, maybe make a homemade necklace?

[@the.parks.of.no.return]

Just as a thought - wouldn't it be better if the drinks company was sat right next to you - ie the cans stay on the belt and travel directly into the drinks company building ?????

[@awesomenathan100]

I wish I could get a sprite filled coca cola can to confuse ppl

[@kingofdoge1907]

what is used to roll the metal into sheet?

[@Stew282]

+KingOfDoge Several pairs of big steel rollers, with a progressively decreasing gap between them, so the Aluminium block is gradually extruded into a thin sheet as it passes through.

[@saimkhan6893]

❤❤

[@iwansays]

It's interesting how the majority of the recommended videos below this one is from engineer guy, at least for me.

[@mba2ceo]

This is pure genius and it makes less money than google :( I will never understand this world.

[@PINGPONGROCKSBRAH]

mba2ceo If you saw some of the coding that went into Google, you would call it genius too. My teacher was an employee there and was telling us about what happens when you click the search button and it is AMAZING. Google literally stores an entire copy of the internet on their servers. Not only that, but they wrote software that allowed them re-program the functionality of one server to others in case one of their servers failed.

[@mba2ceo]

It is all code - If U know code then it is all easy.

[@PINGPONGROCKSBRAH]

mba2ceo You wouldn't say that if you were actually a programmer.

[@mba2ceo]

actually I am ... I even programmed Real Time assembler.

[@PINGPONGROCKSBRAH]

mba2ceo You programmed real time assembler and you don't think modern software is amazing?

[@aaronshoyt]

Where are yall located

[@mrhoho]

lol 1/4 of the worldwide production. that's very huge. almost beyond my imagination.

[@SimonNitzsche]

0:52 but what has HTML todo with that?

[@MichaelMantion]

h8 background music. can you upload this with out music. TY

[@littleman8674469]

Hardly anything is recycled around where I live...majority of it goes into the landfill

[@ElijahJD1126]

I wanna work hereeeeeeee

[@derpyderp5884]

Why is there HTML flying around in the background?

[@wolfpunchdubstep]

4:20 Covent Garden

[@razadaza9651]

From renewable energy hey? Any evidence for that?

[@kickme8x]

Recycling of aluminum beverage containers in the US reached 67% in 2012. Some may say that's great but(95 billion cans a year U.S. 34 cans a pound) that's still nearly 1 Billion pounds of aluminum going in to land fills in the U.S. alone. Not good enough.

[@animefreak5757]

And yet we still can't get sensible law's around this sort of thing. Raise the deposit, remove the fucking ecofee (if a company can't make money recycling aluminum they get for free, some other one can) Then slap the eco fee on plastics where it belongs (it's not generally profitable to recycle plastics without subsidies) Then for the last step, slap those deposit's\ecofee's in consumers faces until they get it. Don't let stores sneak it on at the till. Make it part of the listed shelf price. Only THEN is the consumer going to start demanding their stuff in economically recycle-able packaging. Bring back the glass, steel and aluminum packaging I say.

[@nineball039]

+nateman10 - What a load of carp. You're just lazy and selfish. Aluminum cans take ~100 years to decompose to Al2O3. To be reclaimed, the aluminum oxide must go through the same electrolysis process used to obtain aluminum from mined ore. BTW - your "precious' silicon is 2nd most abundant element in the earth's crust. Ever hear of silicon dioxide? It's beach sand (quartz), the prime ingredient of glass and is even found in living organisms (grasses, eg).

[@FawfulDied]

Aluminum takes a long time to decompose, sure. So does glass, or a multitude of other things. How dangerous is the aluminum, though, while it decomposes? Now, if you want people to recycle, the deposit is a terrible way to do it. It's implemented badly. If you make it too hard to recycle the cans, you have only enacted a new tax on cans and haven't reduced cans in landfills at all. Consider that the nearest collection facility to where I lived in CA was a 20 minute drive, each way. Everything should be pushed towards making recycling easier, not making people pay more money or waste their time and fuel driving to an inefficiently run collection facility. For example, ironically, when I lived in CA only #1 and #2 plastics, out of all plastics, were accepted for recycling. Can't recycle if the municipality doesn't let you. Single-stream recycling is much easier for the consumer and leads to more recycling. Who recycles silicon?

[@SergeantExtreme]

@ninball039 You're full of more crap than my septic tank. My state, Wisconsin, *has NO deposit whatsoever.* In case you didn't get that, I'll repeat it again. *Wisconsin has NO deposit for aluminum cans.* But guess what? Our aluminum recycling rate is at about 94%. Why is that? It's because we got big government out of the picture, and let the free market flourish. And here's how efficient it is: In my city (a small town of about 15,000 people), there's not one, but *THREE* aluminum recycling centers. In large cities like Milwaukee, there's *well over 50 (FIFTY) aluminum recycling centers.* You can drive to just about any one and there will be no wait at all. Most of them are within a 5 minute drive a residential areas, and despite not having a deposit, you can make some serious cash as well as reap other benefits (for example, my local recycling plant not only pays you cash, but if you bring in over a certain amount, they'll also thrown in free day passes to either Mt. Olympus Water Park or Noah's Ark Water Park). So yeah, the reason why aluminum recycling doesn't work in states with deposits is because the government is too heavily involved in recycling. In conclusion, if you want to *INCREASE* the recycling percentage, you need to *ELIMINATE* the deposit entirely and let the free market do its job.

[@KlutzySpy]

What metal is the tab made of?

[@sdfxcvblank5756]

The same metal

[@KlutzySpy]

+sdfxcv blank Are you completely sure? My mother-in-law collects them, saying they're some kind of special metal. She might just be crazy tho :)

[@evertchin]

+Amund Qvale nah, it is the same kind, otherwise it will complicate the recycling process.

[@animefreak5757]

the whole can is "special" metal, it's a high grade of aluminum alloy. The reason people keep the tabs, is there's no deposit on them, and there's places that use the tabs to make wheelchairs n shit. It's sort of like how a penny drive worked before they stopped makin em. Just more organized

[@StephanieCampbellJ]

It is also likely they wouldn't take back a reused piece on their own output via can producion. If I may use a bit of Spanglish when refuting their idea to instill the banks of South America- where most of it ends up... Until they have parallel plants for their own recycling, well then you'd just have an unfit product. You can't have high standards and fleeting incredulity at the same time.

[@BrianSpurrier]

Why do you say "aluminum" at 0:45 and then ho back to "aluminium"?

[@PYROMANIZAC]

He says 'alumina' not aluminum. Alumina is the common name for aluminium oxide

[@bielgaucho_real]

Anyway, both aluminum and aluminum are correct. The spelling and pronunciation depends on the region. grammarist.com/spelling/aluminium-aluminum/

[@prasadnair.g5120]

Nice,for more details how to contact,