The Global Beverage Can Circularity Alliance (GBCCA) is showcasing new technology to close the recycling loop for aluminium cans.
This comes as a result of the GBCCA’s aim to achieve 100% recycling of aluminium beverage cans by 2050, with an interim goal of 80% by 2030.
Sarah Pamplona Santos, Senior Project Director at Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, said: “In the US, each year we’re sending more than $1.5B of aluminium cans to landfill. As recycling rates fall, and demand rises – it is urgent we take action.
“But we know this is a challenge no one group can tackle alone, and are building a platform for industry-wide collaboration.”
The featured technologies, including robotics, AI, user-friendly deposit return systems (DRS) and at-home recycling equipment, are designed to bridge recycling gaps wherever they exist globally.
The technologies will be revealed at Climate Week NYC, New York City, US, where the GBCCA will host the ‘Investment and Technology Spotlight Session’ as part of the International Aluminium Institute’s (IAI) event ‘Aluminium in Action: How Beverage Cans Are Closing the Circularity Loop’.
Here, the GBCCA will outline how the innovations can accelerate the transition to a fully circular economy for aluminium beverage cans.
Examples include utilising robotics and AI systems to extract aluminium beverage cans from unsorted municipal solid waste streams, how Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) can be deployed to ensure cans that arrive at the facility make their way into the appropriate bale, and finally, how large-scale deposit return machines can be engineered to handle entire bags of beverage containers at once, making returns faster and consumer-friendly.
The IAI’s event at Climate Week NYC will explore how commitment to advancing circular solutions in can-to-can recycling is central to supporting the International Energy Agency’s goal of achieving Net Zero by 2050.
Marlen Bertram, Director Scenarios and Forecasts at the IAI, stated: “Aluminium is uniquely positioned to drive decarbonisation through recycling, and aluminium cans have significantly more circularity potential than glass bottles or plastic containers.
“Therefore, by investing in and deploying advanced technologies we can support aluminium in contributing to a net-zero future.”
“Aluminium cans can be recycled over and over again, but realising their full potential requires innovation as well as policy,” said Mr Bertram.
“These technologies demonstrate how we can move from vision to action, helping countries with transitioning recycling systems to achieve the next level of performance.”
The GBCCA’s Global Advocacy Plan, released in 2024, set out the industry’s vision and pathway to achieving higher recycling rates.
With this foundation in place, the focus is now on leveraging technology and investment to deliver progress.
The plan emphasises investment in recycling innovations for transitioning countries where policies are not in place to support high recycling rates, recycling systems are not yet fully mature and may apply single stream collection, have low participation rates, or are lacking sorting infrastructure for mixed recyclables.
By 2030, more than half of all cans placed on the global market are projected to be sold in these regions.
These innovations demonstrate how industry leadership and investment can accelerate progress towards circularity even in regions where government ambitions remain limited.
