The properties of low weight, high strength, corrosion resistance and durability are well known to specifiers of aluminium rainwater products; however, aluminium is also the optimum material from an environmental perspective too. Aluminium is a circular material as the metal is not consumed during its lifetime, but simply reused through recycling at the end of its product-life, not just once, but over and over again, all without detriment to its physical properties or its atomic structure. Effectively, users of aluminium hold the material on trust for future generations rather than consuming it within its current application, making aluminium a truly sustainable building material.

When wider consideration is given to the full environmental credibility of aluminium then one must look beyond just the recyclable nature of the material and also concentrate on the energy required for the production of recycled aluminium, which is only 5% of the energy required for primary aluminium production from bauxite. Where feasible, Dales Fabrications aims to use aluminium which is produced in areas where Hydro-Electric power is widely utilised in the material production process, therefore reducing emissions and the subsequent impact on the environment.

Recyclable aluminium products only emit 5% of the greenhouse gas emitted in primary aluminium production, perhaps it is no surprise then that the aluminium recycling industry has grown threefold in just 3 decades. Dales Fabrications are fully committed to recycling all aluminium and other metals that cannot be further utilised for production.

Of course, it is recognised that the use of sustainable building materials is just one component of an environmentally challenging matrix, but by choosing rainwater products manufactured from aluminium then you are a choosing a system that has made a positive, sustainable and long term impact to the environment, not just in the present but for future generations as the material is endlessly recycled.