Litestructures, aluminium and the environment

Litestructures is committed to energy conservation, in manufacturing and across all areas of its business. In several of the projects featured in this website, those where we have provided the ancillary equipment such as lighting, we have chosen low-energy, long life solutions. Aluminium is the core of our business, and we are therefore pleased to be identified with the virtues of what is increasingly seen as the 'green' metal.

What follows is a synopsis of those virtues. First commercially produced in 1888, aluminium has quickly become the second most used metal. It is strong, durable, flexible in its applications, impermeable, light in weight, does not corode and is 100% recyclable. Nearly three quarters of all the aluminium ever made remains in use today, representing a growing 'energy and resource' bank which can be endlessly re-used. By far the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, aluminium is also easy to extract. It's ore bauxite, is typically found in seams around 12 metres thick, just below the surface topsoil, so it's mining causes little or no permanent damage to the environment. Although producing aluminium from bauxite the first time round is energy intensive, more that 75% of world production is powered by hydro-electricity, itself a re-newable resource.

Europe leads the way in aluminium recycling, with Norway managing a staggering 93% re-use. Around 65% of all the aluminium drinks cans in the world are recycled. These Impressive numbers are growing. All of Litestructures aluminium scrap is recycled. The statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus is one the earliest examples of the creative use of aluminium. It is well over 100 years old and remains in excellent condition despite constant bombardment from pollutants and pigeons. Among its many other attributes, alluminium is a good conductor of heat, and its relatively low melting point makes its recycling both easy and energy efficient. It can be surface treated or coloured by a variety of methods. At Litestructures we prefer powder coating or polishing, and we use sophisticated techniques to carefully control these processes and so protect the environment. So, our green finish is still 'green'.