We’ve all been there- standing in the grocery store aisle, looking at something to buy and our choices are some combination of aluminum, glass, or plastic packaging for that sports drink for a spring mountain bike ride or that six pack we’re picking up for a potluck. So, what’s the best, most sustainable option?
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Aluminum is one of the most efficient and cost-effective materials to recycle. The biggest kick- it can be recycled infinitely! Unlike plastic and glass, it doesn’t have to be down-cycled in the recycling process- that means if you recycle one can, you can make one new can- straight up one to one, and you can recycle it over and over again forever.
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Further, recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy needed when compared to production of the virgin product. Yet, according to the Aluminum Association, Americans send more than $800 million worth of aluminum cans alone to landfills each year.
As with any material or product, it’s worth taking into consideration the bigger picture of why recycling aluminum isn’t only rad in the economic and energy sense, it’s crucial in terms of big picture impacts. The world is made up of limited resources, and anything “single-use” does not take into account that we have ever-growing confines both on materials available and places to dispose of waste. Virgin aluminum open-pit mining results in habitat destruction, loss of plants and animals, climate impacts based on the energy intensive process, and other repercussions for local communities. Recycling aluminum and choosing recycled aluminum packaging can create a big impact- and everything from rinsed-off tinfoil, to your beverage can, to parts of your car are aluminum and can be recycled.
And now… your wine bottle can be easily recycled aluminum too. Revelshine wine breaks boundaries with world class wines in signature sustainability-minded aluminum wine bottles. The wine bottles are not only unbreakable, but infinitely recyclable- so you and your wine are ready for anything from a camping trip to a fine dinner at a friend’s all the same. Revelshine practices organic farming for vineyard soil health, and just like Recover, is a 1% for the Planet business member, committed to donating 1% of gross sales to sustainability initiatives. It was created and is cultivated by a fourth generation Sonoma County winemaker, so the quality of the wine is on par with the high sustainability of its packaging. Revelshine describes its roots as, “The outdoors don’t jive with the weight and worry of glass. Revelshine’s founder, Jake Bilbro, knows this as well as anybody. On a river trip, he tried duct-taping wine bottles to a raft. It did not go well.” So, it tastes good, is environmentally-minded, and it is much better-suited than conventional wine for any adventure.
Revelshine is a partner for the Wineshine half marathon and 3.9 miler, which will take place this summer on July 16 in Napa Valley. Recover is also a proud partner of the Wineshine half marathon, one of the races put on by the Blistering Pace Race Management alongside the Big Sur marathon and the San Francisco Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K.
So, from the vineyard to the race course back to the grocery store. Almost 75% percent of aluminum ever produced in the U.S. is still in use today, and it’s still going strong as long as it makes it to the recycling bin or scrap yard. Recycling aluminum makes a big impact, so join us in making sustainable choices for tomorrow today!
