The beverage can has made a remarkable comeback in recent years. Despite occasional concerns, many consumers still appreciate the advantages of the can. This is confirmed by the results of a survey of 5,000 respondents on the acceptance and use of aluminum beverage cans from January 2020.
"The comeback of the beverage can is impressive," says Marius Baader, Managing Director of the Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e. V. (GDA), "but we know from the survey that ignorance and prejudices are damaging the image of the beverage can. We therefore see it as our duty to provide fact-based information."
To this end, the GDA has published the "Aluminum beverage can" fact check. The paper can be obtained from www.aluinfo.de. The information campaign is being accompanied on social media under the hashtag #RecyclingmeisterGetränkedose.
The fact check is the basis of an information campaign that aims to reach consumers, bottlers, retailers, politicians and NGOs.
Germany in particular has invested significantly in the infrastructure for aluminum recycling in recent years. In the world's most modern aluminum recycling plants, used aluminum beverage cans serve as a valuable raw material, and state-of-the-art technologies ensure high added value, low consumption of resources and low metal losses.
These investments deliver their pay-back for the environment. This is because recycled aluminum requires around 95 percent less energy than aluminum from primary production. In addition, the recycling process causes only six percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that occur during production from primary raw materials.
Such potential is realized when the beverage can is collected and thus kept in the cycle. Here too, the facts are convincing. The recycling rate for beverage cans in Germany is 99 percent.
The beverage can is a true recycling champion with a functioning circular economy.
