The Red, White, and Green

All I can say is: Reynolds Wrap, it’s about time. Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust, but with Food Network stars touting the easy cleanup benefits of lining perfectly good pans with aluminum foil and then breezily tossing the crumpled foil in the trash (Giada, I love you, but I’m talking to you), and only a moderate percentage of recycling programs across the country accepting aluminum foil, you’d think that the shiny stuff grew on trees. Which it doesn’t, of course; aluminum production is, in fact, quite an environmentally destructive process.

Lester Brown, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, writes in Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth (W.W. Norton & Co., 2001) about the process of extracting aluminum:

Because aluminum typically occurs in thin layers of bauxite ore, extracting it by surface mining scars the landscape. For each ton of aluminum produced, a ton of “red mud” – a caustic brew of chemicals — is left after the bauxite is extracted. This red muck is left untreated in large, biologically lifeless ponds, eventually polluting both surface and underground water supplies. But most of the damage done by aluminum production comes from generating electricity to run the smelters. Worldwide, the aluminum industry uses as much electric power as the entire continent of Africa. 

Reynolds Wrap recycled foil, made from 100 percent recycled pre- and post-consumer aluminum, is available in two strengths — standard and heavy duty. The process used to create the recycled foil uses 80 percent less energy than foil made from virgin materials, and also produces fewer emissions. Even the packaging of the foil is green: The paperboard is made from 100 percent recovered paper diverted from trash, and water-based inks are used on the packaging. And, like regular foil, the recycled foil can be placed in the recycling bin (in areas where foil recycling is available). 

Only the heavy duty strength was available at my local supermarket, so I picked up a box to test out. Based on feel alone, I have to wonder why anyone would even choose regular foil over the recycled version. The recycled foil performs just like the original brand; the heavy duty is, just as the package says, heavy duty — it’s thick, durable, and adheres easily to whatever you’re wrapping it in. And with the recycled foil ringing in at $2.99 for 35 square feet, versus $1.99 for 25 square feet of the original one, the difference in cost works out to only 3 cents a square foot. In this economy, that could make a difference to some consumers, especially with generic foils selling for even less than the non-recycled Reynolds Wrap, but I’m betting that for the eco-conscious consumer, the difference in cost will be but a small sacrifice. And Reynolds Wrap might even pick up some new customers; I, for one, had eschewed aluminum foil altogether in favor of the more eco-friendly (and cheaper) natural waxed paper (there has been a recycled foil available at my local Whole Foods for some time, but it’s a bit pricey at $4.99 a pop), but with recycled foil now readily available, even I may pick up a roll from time to time.

–Jennifer Grayson

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