According to a report by Metal Packaging Europe (MPE) and European Aluminium (EA), Europe has hit a record 76.3% can recycling rate in 2023.
The records for the year show that both volumes placed on the market and recycling tonnages increased year on year, by 4% and 7% respectively, indicating that record volumes of aluminium recycled from cans were fed back into Europe’s circular economy.
The recycled tonnage represents a total Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions saving of 5.7 million tonnes of CO₂ (equivalent to the annual amount of GHG produced by a European city of more than half a million inhabitants such as Lyon or Gdańsk).
The continued increase in recycled aluminium volume reflects a general uplift in recycling performance, accentuated in countries with Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) for aluminium beverage cans.
For example, in 2023 Malta introduced a DRS which sparked a rapid increase in aluminium beverage can recycling from 50% to 80%.
Equally significantly, both Latvia and the Slovak Republic experienced year-on-year double-digit growth in recycling rates in 2023 following their implementation of a DRS in 2022. Latvia went from from 60% to 74% and the Slovak Republic went from 58% to 91%.
Director of the Packaging Group at European Aluminium, Andy Doran, commented: “Year on year the evidence builds that well designed Deposit Return Schemes offer consumers the additional incentive to return high value aluminium beverage cans for high quality recycling, at the same time creating the opportunity for closed product loop, circular economy solutions within Europe.
“Full Member State implementation is still needed of the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation National requirements for DRS, so that all EU citizens can now experience this simple and effective collection solution”.
The report highlights the integral role of the aluminium sector in contributing simultaneously to the EU’s ambitious climate agenda and circular economy objectives.
The reported increase in recycling rates is a significant driver of emissions reductions, as recycling aluminium requires 95% less energy than primary production. With the successful implementation of DRS and an export duty on aluminium scrap, Europe will be able to advance on closed loop can-to-can recycling.
Despite this important progression, MPE and EA remain committed to increasing recycling rates at the European level and supporting improved national collection infrastructure through Deposit Return Systems.
In doing so, both EU Member States and industry continue working towards 100% circularity by 2050.
“We are encouraged by the latest achievements and believe the industry is on the right long-term path. Aluminium is a permanent material and a circular resource whose inherent properties do not change, regardless of the number of times it goes through a recycling process,” stated Krassimira Kazashka, CEO of Metal Packaging Europe.
“By 2023, 12 Member States had implemented deposit return schemes (DRS) for aluminium beverage cans, with more Member States following. This growing momentum clearly demonstrates that the pathway towards fully circular, can-to-can recycling for aluminium beverage cans is taking shape across Europe.”
