The aluminum can industry is facing a new challenge in declining recycling rates in the United States. The economic benefits of aluminum recycling are widespread and important not only to the U.S. aluminum industry, but to the economy in general. With an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, Secat Inc. and the University of Kentucky, through the Center for a Sustainable Aluminum Industry, are conducting a project in Fayette County, Kentucky, to understand and improve recycling rates using Six Sigma methodology. This application of Six Sigma is the first methodological attempt at improving the recycling rate. To date, the preliminary process map has been identified and an initial estimate of the true recycling rate has been developed. The information gathered during this project and described in this article is expected to serve as a steppingstone to a national effort to increase U.S. recycling rates. The result, it is anticipated, will be increased economic development opportunities.

Source: S. K. Das and M. Hughes, "Improving Aluminum Can Recycling Rates: A Six Sigma Study in Kentucky." JOM. Vol. 58, No. 8, 2006, pp. 27-31.
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