1 Laws and rules that protect people who shop and spend are examples of consumerism. 2  An obsession with shopping and acquiring stuff is an example of consumerism.  the practice and policies of protecting the consumer by publicizing defective and unsafe products, misleading business practices, etc.
Lower grades of aluminum or dirty aluminum (aluminum mixed with other materials or having insulation) will command a lower value then clean heavy aluminum scrap. for example - see some example aluminum scrap prices below for mid June 2011, the price per pound. Old Sheet Aluminum $ 0.63. Extruded Aluminum $ 0.90.
In 1972, approximately 26,500 tons of aluminum cans were recycled and today that number is estimated to be as high as 800,000 tons. Over 100,000 Aluminum cans are recycled every minute in the U.S. alone. Every can that is recycled means more resources that are available at a lesser cost.