Metal is the league leader for recycling
With a recyling rate of 84% (2019), and 76% (2018) steel has taken the position of Europe's and North Americas most recycled packaging material confirming the material's top environmental performance.
The amount of aluminium packaging effectively recycled depends greatly upon individual national circumstances where the rates vary from 25% to 85% across the globe.
Overall, steel and aluminium used for all types of packaging containing metal have an average recycling rate of 60-70% in Europe.
The main reason for bringing metal in the league is that metal is a perfect material for recycling – due to the fact that cans have a high recycling and scrap value and a well-established and efficient infrastructure is in place. Scrap is an integral part of the manufacturing process at the metal producers, so recovered metal is easily integrated, reducing energy use and emissions.
Metal is a Permanent Material that can be used again and again to form new packaging and other product applications, losing none of its strength or qualities no matter how many times it is recycled.
Metals such as aluminium (AI) and iron (Fe) are elements, so they cannot be destroyed or degraded. They are permanently available resources once they are produced and they retain their structure regardless of the number of loops they go through in the recycling processes.
This means metal is a permanent material, which will always be available for future generations. As such, metal packaging is ideally placed to contribute to the circular economy.
"Metal is 100% recyclable without loss of quality and can be recycled forever"
As consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of packaging on the environment, we support the adoption of a Recycling Mark. The logo - for use on pack symbolises the unique sustainability benefits of metal.
By using the logo, you have the opportunity of highlighting that you have chosen a sustainable material for your packaging and can educate and encourage the consumer to recycle.
The logo is part of a behavior change campaign to help consumers better understand the key role they have to play in keeping metal in the material loop by recycling their empty packaging.
