Brazil recycled 98.2 percent of the aluminum cans used last year, according to a study by the Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL). Nearly 20 percent more cans were collected than in 2008, which is also more than the 12 percent that can consumption grew. In absolute terms, 14.7 billion cans were recycled in a business that is worth some 734 million dollars, according to a joint study with the Brazilian Association of Recyclable Cans.

“In addition to the social and economic benefits are the environmental benefits. Compared with the primary production of aluminum, the recycling process uses five percent of the energy and releases just five percent of greenhouse gases,” ABAL's recycling commission coordinator Henio De Nicola told Tierramérica.

Brazil's recycling rate has kept this South American country among the world leaders in can re-use since 2001.