New recycling mark to help customers to understand that metal packaging can be recycled forever

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Trade association Metal Packaging Europe (MPE) has launched a new recycling mark to engage consumers and highlight the continuous lifecycle of metal.

Although metal is one of the most recycled materials, research conducted by MPE found that consumers do not always understand the real value of recycling and do not always have a clear understanding of what happens with the collected metal fraction.

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It therefore developed the new mark for both on and off pack to help consumers understand their role in keeping metal in a ‘forever loop’ by recycling their empty packaging.

Research carried out across UK, France and Spain showed that both ‘keen recyclers’ and ‘reluctant recyclers’ agreed the message ‘METAL recycles forever’ together with the symbol of a forever loop provides new and clearer information.

MPE general secretary Anders Linde said: “European consumers purchase more than 85 billion products per year in rigid metal packaging so finding a solution to encourage these items to be recycled is of great importance. I am delighted that our industry has jointly identified a message that really makes a difference to consumer attitudes and behaviours, reassuring ‘keen recyclers’ and inspiring ‘reluctant recyclers’. Steel and aluminium have endless possibilities and as long as we collect and recycle, these metals remain permanently available for future generations.”

The project is a collaboration between the aluminium and steel industries and across all rigid metal packaging including beverage and food cans, pain cans, aerosols, speciality metal tins and metal closures.

European Metal Packaging and Beverage Can Makers Europe members will share the research with their customers over the coming months and it is anticipated this mark will become the clearest way for brands to support improving consumer recycling habits.