75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today
From 1888, when aluminium was first produced, to 2021, more than 1.6 billion tonnes of primary aluminium (after cast house, excluding scrap) have been produced globally of which 1.2 billion tonnes (74.5%) is estimated to still be in use today. For current data, please visit: https://alucycle.international-aluminium.org/public-access/publicglobal-cycle/.
- Aluminium is a relatively new metal. Over 70% of its production from ore has occurred since 2000.
- Aluminium’s versatility is evident in a myriad of long-lasting applications, including buildings, trains, planes, and cables.
- Aluminium’s inherent properties remain unchanged throughout recycling processes, enabling it to be recycled repeatedly.
- The high recycling rates of aluminium enable second, third, fourth, and subsequent lifetimes.
Data and modelling
The data is sourced from IAI’s Material Flow Model, based on primary aluminium production data, semis shipments, recycling rates and product lifetimes. This data also includes the stocks and flows of aluminium, spanning from mining to use and recycling, on an annual basis, historically from 1888 and with projections to 2050.
This comprehensive tracking covers 12 products, 4 alloy groups, and 10 regions.
Data sources, links and publications:
- Electrolytic production has been tracked every month by IAI since 1973.
- Further historical electrolytic production is collected from the United States Geological Survey Minerals
- Primary aluminium ingot production is calculated from electrolytic aluminium production and includes alloying elements and metal losses
- Stock in use is modelled and tracked annually via the IAI Material Flow Model and is published on Alucycle
- M Bertram, S Ramkumar, H Rechberger, G Rombach, C Bayliss, KJ Martcheck, DB Müller, G Liu. A regionally linked, dynamic material flow modelling tool for rolled, extruded and cast aluminium products, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 125, 2017, pp48-69
Last updated: August 2024