Record recycling of aluminium beverage cans in Poland and across Europe
The European aluminium can recycling industry is on track to achieve 100% circularity in 2050. According to the latest figures, in 2022 the recycling rate of this popular beverage packaging was almost 75%, with an increase of 10,000 tonnes of recovered aluminium. Could something stand in the way of a complete closure of the circulation?
Europe has returned 74.6% of aluminium cans to circulation
On 10 February 2025, a report by Metal Packaging Europe and European Aluminium was published, showing that up to 74.6% of aluminium beverage cans placed on the market will be recycled throughout 2022. In percentage terms, this result represents a slight (1%) decrease compared to 2021, so why the mentioned record?
As the report reads in 2022. the total amount of aluminium recovered from beverage cans was a record 580,000 tonnes.. On an annual basis, we have therefore seen an increase of 10,000 tonnes (or 1.7%). This is due to increasing consumption - more packaging is brought to market in 2022, and this in turn increased the total weight of packaging waste entering the recycling stream. At the same time, with the collection and sorting system remaining constant, the percentage of recycling (as a percentage) has fallen slightly as a result of the greater increase in the production and consumption of cans[i].
The authors of the report relied on data from the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. How does Poland compare to Europe?
Poland above the European average. How many cans have we recycled?
Beverage can recycling in Poland has remained at a consistently high level for several years. Data from the RECAL Foundation shows that in 2022. the level of recycling of alu cans was as high as 80%. It was only better in 2017-2018 (81% and 80.5% respectively)[ii]..
Poland is among the countries with the highest level of can recycling. We are ahead of 11 countries, most of which already have well-functioning deposit systems. It is in the development of deposit systems in more European countries, representatives of Metal Packaging Europe and European Aluminium see opportunities for a further increase in the percentage of cans returned to circulation.
Packaging director at European Aluminium, Andy Doran, commented:
"The continued high level of recycling reinforces our belief that we are moving in the right direction. The latest results also show that it is a marathon, not a sprint. 2022 has seen the implementation of several deposit schemes and as they mature, recycling rates will continue to rise."
CEO of Metal Packaging Europe, Krassimira Kazashka, she added:
"We welcome the latest results and believe that the industry remains on track to achieve 100% circularity of aluminium cans by 2050. [...] Following the EU's recent adoption of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, we encourage Member States to implement sustainable and efficient deposit systems that enable full circularity of aluminium cans through 'can-to-can' recycling."
Increased aluminium recycling means reduced environmental burden
The Metal Packaging Europe and European Aluminium report also refers to the environmental benefits of recycling aluminium packaging waste. In 2022, the processing of just one type of waste - an aluminium beverage can - allowed the reduce emissions by 5.4 million tonnes of CO₂eq (carbon dioxide equivalent). This amount corresponds to the annual emissions of a city with more than half a million inhabitants, such as Oslo or Genoa.
Read more about the environmental benefits of aluminium recycling in the article: Aluminium recycling - can you close the loop in 60 days?
Sources:
[1] Metal Packaging Europe and European Aluminium, Record Number of Used Aluminium Beverage Cans Recycled as Industry Drives Toward 100% Circularity by 2050, https://european-aluminium.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/EA-MPE-BevCan-2022-Recycling-Results-Press-Release-10-February-2025.pdf.
[2] Recycling, https://recal.pl/recykling/