ANS1. Why are the infant formulas all over the world canned with tinplate?

Light will degrade food and change proteins and amino acids. In addition, vitamin C tends to react with other ingredients of the food and decay when exposed to light.

Tinplate has good sealing property and opaqueness, reliably maintains the content, and keeps most nutritive value.

ANS2.Why the use rates of Tinplate can in German and France are higher than 80%?

Tinplate cans meet such environmental demands as low pollution, recoverability and resource saving.

Tinplate cans have good sealing property and opaqueness, and reliably maintain the quality of their content, so consumers will enjoy safe and healthy food. In particular, tinplate cans are easy to recover through waste sorting: its recovery rate may reach 80%. In addition, the can will turn into iron oxide via oxidation when exposed to the air, which will not lead to pollution.

ANS3.Why the Japanese consume more than 25 billion Tinplate cans every year?

Tinplate cans meet such environmental demands as low pollution, recoverability and resource saving.

Tinplate cans have good sealing property and opaqueness, and reliably maintain the quality of their content, so consumers will enjoy safe and healthy food. In particular, tinplate cans are easy to recover through waste sorting: its recovery rate may reach 80%. In addition, the can will turn into iron oxide via oxidation when exposed to the air, which will not lead to pollution.

ANS4.History of tinplate

1810:  the first tinplate can in the world was invented by a British and was granted with a patent; at that time, a can maker could produce 60 cans a day.

1847:  A can making machine was invented in U.S. to replace workers.

1900:  The electric welding machine was invented.

1965:  The easy-open aluminum ends were used in can productions.

1973:  The easy-open Tinplate ends were used in can productions.

1990:  The can making technology has now advanced to a rate of over 1,000 cans each minute.

ANS5.ANS5 Origin of Ma Kou Tie (Chinese name of tinplate)

Tinplate (tin-plated steel) was early known as “foreign iron”. The name Ma Kou comes from the pronunciation of Macau, since the first batch of Tinplate in China was imported through Macau in the middle of Qing Dynasty.

ANS6.Purposes of tinplate

Application of tinplate is very wide from packaging material for food and beverage to grease cans, chemicals cans and other miscellaneous cans. Advantage and characteristics of tinplate are to provide well protection for contents in physical and chemical properties.

1. Food cans

Tinplate can assure hygiene of food effectively, reduce possibility of corruption, effectively cut off danger for health, and meanwhile, conform to convenience and rapidness requirements of modern people for food.

2. Beverage can

Tinplate can be used for holding juice, coffee, tea and sports drink and for holding cola, soda, beer and etc. High processability of tinplate can make the types of can vary a lot. Regardless of long, short, large, small, square or round form, tinplate is able to meet requirements for diversified packaging needs.

3. Oil can

Light will incur and accelerate oxidation reaction of edible oil, reduce nutritive value and possibly generate harmful substance. More importantly, it will destroy the vitamins, especially vitamin D and vitamin A. Oxygen in the air will promote oxidation of the edible oil, reduce biomass of protein and destroy vitamins. Tinplate effectively isolates light and air due to its light-proof property and tightness; thus, it is a good choice for packing of oil and food.

4. Chemicals tank

Tinplate is a good packaging material for chemicals due to its solid, well protective, shock resistant and fire resistant texture.

5. Aerosols and other miscellaneous cans

Tinplate cans can be high temperature and high pressure resistant, especially suitable for cans filled with high pressure substance (Aerosols).

Various shapes of cans such as cookie jar, writing cases, tea cases, badges and milk powder cans are all tinplate products.

ANS7. Tinplate cans, packaging material that meets demands for environmental protection

Present containers, such as tinplate cans, aluminum cans, paper and plastic containers, are different in their characteristics of collection and processing. However, tinplate can is superior to container with other packaging materials in collection and processing.

On the basis that implementation of international environment management standards ISO-14000 is imminent, tinplate cans, having characteristics of low pollution, recyclability, energy saving, will have wider development space in future packaging purposes:

1. Low pollution:

Raw material of iron container, tinplate, is not harmful to the environment: in fact it will be spontaneously decomposed for it can be naturally oxidized, recovered to state of the original ferric oxide and returned to the nature. Thus, as time goes by, scrap tinplate cans will decompose but no cause pollution to environment. In addition, no tree is required to be cut down for fabrication of tinplate cans, which will not destroy ecological balance.

2. Recyclability

Tinplate cans have a unique characteristic not available to other packing materials, namely, being able to be attracted by magnet. Thus, magnetic separators can isolate tinplate cans from waste by means of magnetic force, which may easily recover 80% of tinplate cans from waste. Invention of environmentally-friendly end not only makes usage of tinplate cans securer and more sanitary, but also effectively reduces quantity of waste, which benefit for collection work directly and significantly.

3. Resource saving

On the aspect of removing other pollution residues from tinplate cans, shredder device has been developed at present, which is able to effectively remove more than 98% of contaminants and provide scrap iron chippings of good quality. In addition, it is pointed out in America that occurrence of easy-open aluminum end facilitates re-fabrication of scrap iron for it can reduce quantities of Hot Metal used for steelmaking and overall costs for fabrication of iron and steel. Besides, on the aspect of energy saving, it is reported that, by comparison of iron and steel produced by chippings of tinplate and by other iron mines, scrap iron chippings can save consumption of about 230m3 of natural gas for per ton scrap iron chippings. Thus, collection and re-fabrication process for tinplate cans reduces impacts on global environment and energy. Tinplate cans are consistent with trends of future products.

ANS8. Tinplate cans and resources recovery

Income of Chinese people has been enhanced in recent years. Recreation and relaxation activities are popular. Chinese people’s consumption demand for food and beverage has been greatly enhanced in both quality and quantity. At present, among containers used to pack food and beverage, tinplate has good sealing property and opaqueness, and reliably maintains the content, so consumers will enjoy safe and sanitary food. With good thermal conductivity, it is easy for tinplate can to be heated or cooled. Especially, after tinplate can is used, it is easy to be disposed by classification (able to be isolated with magnet); and the tinplate can is able to be naturally oxidized and decomposed in nature, which will not cause environment pollution.

There is only one earth. Let’s learn about relation between tinplate can and resources recovery and jointly make efforts for environment protection!

Step 1:  Used tinplate cans can be regarded as resource waste (recyclable waste), placed in appointed place with other container and then moved by resources recycling truck.

Step 2:  Resource waste gathered is then transported to resource centers of districts and towns.

Step 3:  Since tinplate cans are magnetic, they can be separated from other waste by means of large-sized magnet.

Step 4:  Tinplate cans separated are bound in a way easy for handling and then transported to the site for steel and iron fabrication.

Step 5:  Recovery rate of tinplate cans, as resource waste, is as high as 73.8%.

What does resource recycling mean?

1. Iron began to be recovered previously.

There were iron forging and smelting workers in villages. They melted iron chippings to make agricultural machinery and devices etc. Hence, iron recovery dates back to a long time ago. Iron chippings are presently regarded as an important resource. Iron maker will definitely use scrap iron to fabricate new iron appliances. This is so-called recovery of iron.

2. Resource recycling is of great importance.

All the things we use in life are made from petroleum or metal, plant and other important resources on the earth. If resources in the earth are used lavishly, then they will be exhausted very rapidly. Therefore, it is quite important to recover the used things before they are abandoned.

ANS9. What can a tinplate can be used for after being recycled?

1. It can be turned into various high buildings

The material of irons for high buildings in our schools, communities, apartments, companies or towns can be made by the tinplate cans recycled.

2. It can be turned into iron rails

Iron rails, as the name suggests, are “rails made of iron”. Tinplate cans can be made into the rails used in high-speed railways or ordinary railways.

3. It can be turned into bridges or terminals

The steel bridge crossing rivers or seas can also be manufactured with the tinplate cans recycled. Even the terminals where ships berth use somewhat the tinplate cans recycled as their materials.

4. It can also be recycled and made into tinplate cans

For re-producing, it can be used as the material of making tinplate cans. A tinplate can separated from resource wastes and cleaned can also be recycled and made into nice objects.

ANS10. What can we do to contribute to our earth?

1. Everybody can do the two things below:

a. Give much help to separate collection.

b. Do not litter.

2. Do not waste resources

Please separate the tinplate can from other wastes for separate collection. In this way, tinplate cans can be repeatedly recycled and made into nice objects, thus avoiding waste of resources.

3. Do not ignore the environment

Empty juice bottles used outside should be thrown into the trash bin correctly or brought back home and recycled as resource wastes. It is also important to pick up, clean and recycle the empty bottles on the ground.

Therefore,tinplate can meets the demand for environmental protection:

1. It is made of fewer resources:

The energy used to make a tinplate can is only 1/8 of that used in making an aluminum one. So, tinplate cans make full use of the energy.

2. It is available for recycling:

The tinplate can be collected by larger magnets. Compared to other containers, it takes fewer efforts to separate these cans during recycling. Easier recycling means that it is an important resource that can be used with ease.

3. It is a material in harmony with humans and the earth:

Iron is an important part in our body. In addition, iron itself is a kind of natural metal on the earth. Proper use will always make it a material in harmony with humans and the environment.