Recycled aluminium. View of stacks of ingots of recycled aluminium metal. Aluminium is a strong yet light metal which is extensively used is the packaging and manufacturing industry. Because mining and purifying the ore is a costly process, and world supplies of the metal are finite, recycling used aluminium is an economically and environmentally sound idea. Aluminium drink cans, for example, can be taken to a recycling plant, melted down, and cast into ingots such as these for further use.