Aluminum Association introduces container design guide

The Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, has released a new paper, “Four Keys to Circular Recycling: An Aluminum Container Design Guide.” The guide provides details on how beverage companies and container designers can best use aluminum in product packaging. The association says smart aluminum container design begins with an understanding of how contamination, particularly from plastic, can negatively impact recycling operations and even create operational and safety issues.

“We are happy that more and more consumers are turning to aluminum cans as their preferred choice for carbonated water, soft drinks, beer and other beverages,” Tom Dobbins, president & CEO of the Aluminum Association says. “However, with this growth, we have begun to see some container designs that create major issues at the point of recycling. While we want to encourage innovative design choices with aluminum, we also want to make sure our ability to effectively recycle the product isn’t negatively impacted.”

The guide explains the aluminum can recycling process and lays out some of the challenges created by adding nonremovable foreign objects, such as plastic labels, tabs, closures and other items, to the container. As volumes of foreign material in the aluminum container recycling stream grow, challenges include operational issues, increased emissions, safety concerns and reduced economic incentives to recycle, according to the association.

The guide concludes with four keys for container designers to consider when working with aluminum:

• Use aluminum – To maintain and increase the efficiency and economics of recycling, aluminum container designs should maximize the percentage of aluminum and minimize the use of nonaluminum materials.
• Make plastic removable – To the extent that designers use nonaluminum material in their designs, it should be removable easily and labeled to encourage separation.
• Avoid the addition of non-aluminum design elements whenever possible – Minimize the use of foreign materials in aluminum container design. Polyvinyl chloride and chlorine-based plastics, which can create operational, safety and environmental hazards at aluminum recycling facilities, should not be used.
• Consider alternative technologies – Explore design alternatives to avoid adding nonaluminum material to aluminum containers.

“We hope this new guide will increase understanding throughout the beverage packaging supply chain about the challenges of contaminated recycling streams and provide some principles for designers to consider when working with aluminum,” Dobbins says. “Aluminum cans are tailor-made for a more circular economy, and we want to make sure it stays that way.”

The Aluminum Association notes the importance of UBCs to municipal recycling programs. Earlier this year, a study examined the role of UBCs in helping make these programs financially viable, effectively subsidizing the recycling of less valuable materials.

Can manufacturers have not been able to keep up with increasing demand for their products brought on by the pandemic this year. This was fueled in part by restrictions on recycling programs earlier in the pandemic that caused fewer used beverage cans (UBCs) to reenter the aluminum supply chain.