European Group Releases Steel Recycling Stats

The Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL) has released its latest recycling figures for post-consumer steel packaging scrap. According to APEAL, the figures show that 71 percent of steel packaging in Europe was recycled in 2010.

APEAL notes that the methodology and data sources used for the calculations have been reviewed independently by the energy and waste specialist consultancy, Eunomia1, confirming the results credibility.

By compiling and releasing figures in advance of other materials, APEAL says that the steel packaging industry is demonstrating a solid conviction as to the importance of recycling in Europe, where plastic, beverage cartons and glass demonstrate rates of 30 percent, 34 percent and 68 percent, respectively (according to latest available data).

In a release, APEAL says the steel packaging industry is committed to increasing recycling rates even further, focusing on metal packaging‘s long-term objective of achieving in Europe a 80-percent recycling rate and zero metal cans in landfill by 2020—far higher than current EU or national targets.

The association claims that the statistics it has released reinforce the long term trend for steel as the most recyclable and the most recycled packaging material in Europe. Indeed the last 20 years have seen a threefold increase in packaging steel recycling thanks to a combination of steel’s natural properties, well-established collection and recovery routes across Europe and recognition for the resource gains of recycling.