Aluminium is the most common metal in the earth's crust and the third most common abundant element.
Aluminium is a versatile material with many uses - from beer cans to cars, boats and airplanes.
One of the major characteristics of aluminium is that it is very well suited for recycling.
The quality of the material is not affected negatively in the recycling process and aluminium can be recycled an infinite number of times. Recycling aluminium reduces the overall environmental impact. When we recycle aluminium only about 5% of the energy needed to produce aluminium from bauxite is used.
Other properties of aluminium which makes it an interesting construction material with many uses are:
- Lightweight
- Easy to assemble
- Easy to shape
- Thermally conductive
- High strength
- Conductive
- Corrossion resistant
- Non-toxic