Recycling rate for aluminium cans remains high

A new report from Metal Packaging Europe and European Aluminium shows that the overall recycling rate for aluminium beverage cans in the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland remained stable at 76% (75.8%) in 2019. With can consumption on the rise, the total amount of aluminium recycled from cans reached a record level of 488,000 tonnes, representing a total saving of 4 million tonnes of CO₂ in greenhouse gas emissions.

The can manufacturers (members of Metal Packaging Europe) and their aluminium suppliers (members of European Aluminium) welcomed the new result, but stated, that the recycling rates could be even higher with some additional efforts. In March 2021, the two industry associations published their joint roadmap for 100 per cent can recycling by the year 2030 presented. This goal can only be achieved if the existing packaging collection systems in Europe are further improved or replaced by well-designed deposit systems for beverage cans and other relevant beverage packaging.