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| LIFE IN SOLERA | AUGUST 2025 | 35 Let's talk aluminum cans! In June we talked about the process of plastic recycling so let's look at aluminum. On a worldwide basis, approximately 67 percent of all aluminum cans purchased by consumers are recycled, which makes these cans the most recycled container in the world. To put that in perspective, only nine percent of plastic bottles are currently being recycled! at's the good news. e mining of the metal has a huge environmental impact from the strip mining to the rening, smelting, and molding of this metal. Recycling already-produced aluminum products prevents the creation of any new waste and saves valuable landll space. Processing aluminum cans for the Sunshine Club is much easier than plastics because an aluminum can is an aluminum can and it all goes into the same bag for transport to the recycling center. From there, the process is very similar to plastics. Here's a more detailed look at the process: Step 1: Sorting Materials placed in recycling bins or other receptacles are taken to waste transfer stations where they are sorted, washed, and compacted in square bales. Step 2: Shredding Aer being taken to reprocessing plants, the aluminum is cut or shredded into small pieces to reduce its volume. Step 3: Cleaning Using mechanical and chemical process, the surfaces of the aluminum pieces are scrubbed clean, to prepare them for melting. Step 4: Melting Scrap aluminum is loaded in bales into high-temperature, high-capacity furnaces, and melted down at temperatures that reach or exceed 750 degrees Celsius. Step 5: Removal of byproducts To purify the molten metal, various waste products created in the melting process are removed, either mechanically or using chlorine and nitrogen gas. Step 6: Creation of aluminum alloy Aluminum alloys are created by adding metals like copper, zinc, magnesium or silicon to the molten mixture. Alloy formulas are chosen based on the planned uses for the reprocessed aluminum. Step 7: Compounding e molten metal is poured out and formed into ingots, which can be transported to aluminum processing or manufacturing plants to be made into new products. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participates in recycling whether it is on your own or for the Sunshine Club! If you have any questions about our club or activities, feel free to ask one of our members or contact Diane Coman at (949) 295-1097. Our next meeting will be on the third Wednesday of September at 1 pm in the Arts & Cras Room. Please consider joining us! SUNSHINE CLUB Sunshine Helpers Needed! Chronic illnesses, hospitalization, and/or death can hit people hard. If you have a friend or neighbor here in Solera who needs a spark of sunshine, let members of the Sunshine Club know. For your convenience, the yellow Sunshine Box is located on the table in the Mail Room where you can drop off the information for a resident or residents who are sick or have experienced a death in the family. Sometimes just a card or telephone call will brighten someone's day immensely.