During the past three decades, the aluminum industry has been distinguished by fluctuating prices and availability. Following a period of price controls in the early 70s, costs increased sharply during the OPEC oil embargo and worldwide supply shortages of the mid 80s. As the world's largest consumer of aluminum products, the United States does not have sufficient natural resources to meet the demand for primary aluminum. While imports fill that void, increased cost and energy usage of the imported primary aluminum has eroded profits. As a result, recycling has become the leading source of domestic aluminum supply. The Center for a Sustainable Aluminum Industry (CSAI) conducts research that ensures the industry's future sustainability and competitive edge.

    CSAI builds upon an existing collaboration between the University of Kentucky and industry through the UK Center for Aluminum Technology and Secat, Inc., a for-profit industry collaborative that was created to develop proprietary technical research. The Center is a model collaboration of industry, academic, government and trade organizations committed to boosting R&D and business development in the aluminum industry. These partners participate on CSAI's agenda-setting steering committee and receive early access to progress reports and proprietary research.

    The current research agenda leverages observation-based investigations in direct partnership with business to enhance the industry's sustainability. Based on industry needs as identified in Aluminum Industry Vision 2001 and a 2004 CEO survey, there are three areas of primary focus: recycling programs, workforce development and deployment, and supply chain management.

    CSAI's research on recycling programs identifies the factors that affect recycling rates and methods business and government can employ to improve rates. This area of exploration is critical to industry as evidenced by declining beverage can recycling rates. Between 1992 and 2004 rates fell from 67 percent to 50 percent, translating to over $200 million in economic impact. CSAI's research will have broad applicability to industry, allowing companies to improve competitiveness and increase sustainability.

    In collaboration with a local county recycling center, the University of Kentucky recycling organization, and two local commercial recycling firms, CSAI has implemented a study of the recycling process in Lexington. The project documents the process of consumer recycling, flowcharts the separation procedure to separate metals, plastics and paper, and tallies the volume and pricing of each recycling stream. The study will result in consumer-oriented programs to improve recycling rates that will increase recycled aluminum to both the two private recycling firms and the local recycling facility, ultimately affecting the industry as a whole. Findings and recommendations will then be translated to meet the needs of the broader industry.

    Additional research efforts are being formulated to address the areas of workforce development and deployment and supply chain management, using the expertise found at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. These results, combined with the results of the recycling studies, will enable the aluminum industry to source both jobs and material from within the United States, providing economic benefit to both the industry and the domestic economy.