According to International Aluminium Institute 2023, the global average aluminum recyclable cans that can be recycled stands at 63%, but wide regional differences exist: Europe leading at 74% (Germany with 98% deposit), North America at 62% (US at 69% recycling) and Asia with only 48% (Japan with 71% through refined sorting and India with 35% due to infrastructural deficiencies). In Brazil, the “reverse logistics Law” forced the beverage companies to practice recycling, and recycling rate has gone up from 40% to 67% in 2022, saving 1.2 million tons of landfill waste each year. Economically, a 1% improvement in the world recovery rate would save US $210 million in primary aluminum mining costs (based on 2023 aluminum prices of US $2,300 / ton), and reduce carbon emissions by 37,000 tons (World Bank Climate Panel model).
Technology innovation is central to increasing Recycling rates – the AI sorting technology developed by UK company Greenback Recycling Technologies has improved the recognition rate of aluminum cans from mixed waste to 82% from 97%, and the processing rate is up to 12 tons/hour (2022 pilot data). Norway’s Hydro utilizes hydrogen smelting technology to reduce energy needed for recycled aluminum production to 8.5 MWH/ton (just 8% of the primary aluminum process), pushing the ratio of recycled aluminum production above 70% in 2023. The developing world remains in a state of plight: recovery rate of aluminum cans in Africa is less than 25%, due to manual sorting efficacy of just 30-50 pieces/person/hour, and purity level is up to 15% (UN Environment 2021 study).
Policy innovation and business model innovation have a direct effect on the recovery rate. After the awareness in South Korea in 2020 of the “garbage charge according to volume,” the recycling rate of aluminum cans has increased from 53% to 68%, and the residents’ classification accuracy rate has increased by 41%. Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) reduced sorting interference through a “labelless tank design”, increasing recycled aluminium usage from 49% to 63% (ESG 2023 report). An increase in global recycling rates from 63% to 80% would unleash 1.9 million tonnes of recycled aluminium (covering three months of global demand for tanks) and create $5.4 billion in circular economy value (McKinsey’s Aluminium Transformation Forecast 2030). The current bottleneck is a broken recycling chain: 28% of global aluminium cans are lost to the environment through uneconomical collection (Marine Conservation Society data), and must be broken by deposit extension (e.g. Lithuania’s to 89% coverage by 2023) and consumer rewards (e.g. Brazil’s R $0.05 refund by Tetra Pak per can).