The overall recycling rate for aluminum beverage cans in Europe (EU 28 + EFTA) increased by 1.6 percent to a new record level of 72.9 percent in 20141.
European Aluminum considers this result an important milestone on its path towards the future split aluminum recycling target of 75 percent for 2025, proposed by the European Union in its Circular Economy package.
On the whole European continent (including other East-European countries, Russia and Turkey) nearly 30 billion cans have been recycled. This means that every second an aluminum beverage can is being recycled somewhere in Europe. Their metal stays in the European circular economy and remains available for the production of new aluminum products. Recycling aluminum takes 95 percent less energy than producing it from its raw materials. The recycling process also generates only 5 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions.
Aluminum beverage cans contribute to a large extent to the overall recycling result of all aluminum packaging. Although only a few European countries already report specific recycling numbers to Eurostat for the whole aluminum packaging fraction we can safely assume that all European citizens together recycle more than 60 percent of their used aluminum packaging. However, this also means that the aluminum industry together with its partners in the value chain has to bridge the gap with the newly proposed targets within a relatively short period of time. European Aluminum will continue to play its part in these activities.
Maarten Labberton, director of the European Aluminum Packaging Group, called upon the EU Member States to make an extra effort to collect, sort and recycle more drink cans and other aluminum packaging items within the coming years. ‘‘While we support the ambitious 75 percent target for aluminum packaging we strongly recommend that local authorities together with the waste management chain invest more in innovative sorting technologies. Fortunately, these investments will pay off quickly, due to the relatively high scrap value of aluminum.”
Through its successful awareness program with the can manufacturers, Every Can Counts, European Aluminum is continuously addressing the collection and recycling of so called “out-of-home” cans; cans consumed at the workplace, at festivals or other outdoor events. In 2017 Poland and the Benelux countries joined Every Can Counts and more countries are expected to adopt this program in the near future.
Published in the December 2017 Edition of American Recycler News
