A new study, “Aluminium Beverage Can Recycling in United Arab Emirates and Asia Pacific: A Review Of Waste Management Maturity In Six Countries,” on recycling of aluminum cans has identified that 60 million tonnes of CO2e per annum could be saved through effective global recycling of used beverage cans (UBCs) by 2030. The study was commissioned by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) and co-funded by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Crown Holdings, Australian Aluminium Council, and Novelis.
The results of the study are presented in a report produced by global management consultants Roland Berger. The review involved stakeholder interviews, regulation reviews, market and value chain context assessment, data collection reviews, and baselining.
“This comprehensive study reaffirms what we published in 2022 – that 71% or more of all aluminum cans put on market are recycled globally. The IAI has added processing losses to the delivered data by Roland Berger and can confirm that 79% of all cans put on the market in these six countries collectively end up in recycled ingots for a second life,” said Marlen Bertram, director of Scenarios and Forecasts at the IAI. “The report highlights key improvement levers including better awareness about the benefits of aluminum can recycling, investment in infrastructure, and quality waste streams. It also shows how our industry can play a vital part in advocating for the implementation of schemes that will make a valuable difference in increasing recycling rates for aluminum cans.”
Based on the assessment of can waste management systems in Australia, Cambodia, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Vietnam, the study proposes 25 levers to increase recycling and a prioritized set of strategic recommendations to improve aluminum can recycling in these six countries. Together, these countries provide representative insights into can usage, collection, and processing across different countries and cultures.
The assessment also provides insight into the regional trade flows of UBC scrap in the Gulf and Asia Pacific regions — both major trading hubs. For each of the six countries, various aspects were analyzed, including waste management and regulatory schemes, collection infrastructure, recycling and landfill rates, volumes put on market, usage trends, overall performance, UBC trade, material flows and future targets.
The six countries fall into three broad categories:
- Countries dependent on informal aluminum can collection mechanisms (e.g., Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam). They rely on a high number of informal workers. As cans generate revenue for the sector, these countries report high recovery rates.
- Countries with developed systems (e.g., Australia and South Korea). These rely on complex waste management systems, such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) and/or deposit return systems (DRS).
- Countries that have transitioning systems (e.g., the UAE). Here the collection infrastructure is largely fully developed but does not include mandatory or well-functioning EPR, nor DRS systems.
According to the study, South Korea had the highest overall recovery rate at 96%. South Korea has had an EPR system for more than 20 years. Only 37% of cans put on market are recovered for can sheet production — a relatively low rate for a country with established can-recycling infrastructure and capacities.
Following South Korea, the countries with the next highest recycling rates were Vietnam 93%, Cambodia 90%, Thailand 86%, Australia 74%, and the UAE 33%.
Vietnam’s informal sector generates high quality scrap, but only has a can-to-can (C2C) recycling rate of just 1% (C2C refers to UBCs being recycled back into sheet for the production of new cans). A further 92% of recovered cans go into “not C2C” products.
“Aluminum can-to-can recycling is the most efficient way of saving resources and energy as well as reducing carbon emissions in the industry,” noted Sachin Satpute, president of Novelis Asia. “Used aluminum cans can be recycled and back on the store shelf as new cans in as little as 60 days.”
Cambodia reports high collection and recovery rates. Collection is performed via the informal sector, which relies heavily on scrap for income. The country has no domestic recycling capacity and its cans are mostly recycled into non-can products.
Although Thailand is listed as the fourth highest in terms of overall recover, the country has the best C2C recovery rate of those in the study scope at 78% of cans put on market — but 14% of cans still go to landfill.
Australia has a voluntary EPR scheme and a DRS scheme (currently in six states out of eight and expected to be implemented in two more), which helps to reach a recovery rate of 74%. Due to lack of local recycling capacity all cans are exported. Through country has a rate of 48% for can-to-can recycling.
Marghanita Johnson, executive director of the Australian Aluminium Council, noted, “This study shows that even with the advanced policies and infrastructure for recycling in Australia there are opportunities to do better — and that there are actions which can be taken individually and collectively to help improve the rate of can-recycling, to reduce contamination, and to increase can-to-can recycling rates.”
In the UAE, 67% of cans go to landfill. Of all cans put on market, 20% are used for can-to-can recycling. “Aluminum is an essential material for the development of a more sustainable society,” said Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif Bin Kalban, CEO of EGA. “It takes far less energy to recycle aluminum than to make new metal, but too much still ends up in landfill. We must develop both the culture of segregating aluminium such as UBCs, and the infrastructure to recycle. We are making progress but much more needs to be done and Emirates Global Aluminium will play its part. We are developing recycling facilities, and in the UAE we are working with can-makers, beverage producers and waste management companies to promote aluminum recycling in society.”
The four key levers presented in the study for improved recovering and recycling of UBCs include infrastructure investment (such as appropriate collection and sorting equipment and operations), better waste streams, increased transparency through local data collection, and improved public awareness. Achieving these levels will require action on the part of all stakeholders through advocacy for regulation, support of pilot projects, the launch of awareness campaigns, and increased recycling capacity.
“The superior recyclability of aluminum beverage cans continues to inspire us to raise awareness and build infrastructure for a stronger recovery rate across the globe,” said Sandrine Duquerroy-Delesalle, director, Sustainability & External Affairs at Crown. ”
Through this new study we have identified effective levers in four key markets for Crown which all actors within the aluminum supply chain can and should take responsibility to action. To utilize these avenues and advance progress, we are hopeful that governments in each of these regions will recognize the critical role they play in establishing proper policy frameworks. It is imperative we have legislative support to reach our goals to reduce our carbon footprint through higher usage of recycled aluminum, both in the immediate and long-term time frames.”
The aluminum can continues to be the package of choice for the alcohol and soft drinks industries with global consumption expected to increase by 50% between 2020 and 2030 (i.e., from 420 to 630 billion cans annually).
“The carbon reduction potential of recycling cannot be underestimated,” said Bertram. “Recycling of used aluminum products has a huge role to play in the overall decarbonization of the aluminum industry, because recycling these products emit 0.6 tonnes of CO2e per tonne compared to 16.6 tonnes of CO2e per tonne for primary aluminum. This is why IAI members focus their strategies on decarbonizing their primary aluminum production and increasing the use of aluminum scrap, thereby reducing landfilling of aluminum products after use.”
Learn more about the findings of the study in the fact sheet, Aluminium Can Recycling in the United Arab Emirates and Asia Pacific: A Review Of Waste Management Maturity In Six Countries.