Big-name can and tin producers have hailed an increase in the recycling of these items.
Steel for Packaging Europe, which represents Tata Steel, Arcelor Mittal and three other major companies on the continent, pointed to latest figures verified by consultancy Eunomia.
It said these showed the EU’s “real” recycling rate for packaging steel was 82 per cent in 2023.
Measuring the volume of waste entering reprocessing facilities, this figure was up from 80 per cent the prior year.
It represented the highest proportion of steel packaging on record that has been “really recycled” in the EU, according to the trade body.
Steve Claus, secretary general of Steel for Packaging Europe, said tins and cans “play a critical role in helping member states achieve their circular economy goals – conserving resources, and reducing emissions as well as helping to maintain food security and prevent food waste”.
He added: “The continued rise in steel packaging recycling rates, which corresponds to the amount of packaging that is really recycled at the entrance of recycling operations and not the volume of collected packaging which might contain impurities, reflects our industry’s commitment to closing the material loop.
“All recycled steel packaging will be used to make new steel products without loss of quality.”
