IAI initiative makes UBC recycling recommendations

The Global Beverage Can Circularity Alliance, established by the London-based International Aluminium Institute (IAI), has launched what it calls a global advocacy plan to boost the global recycling rate of aluminum used beverage cans (UBCs).

The plan, developed by Germany-based consulting firm Roland Berger and announced in coordination with the Climate Week NYC event in New York, “identifies actions, investments and policies based on domestic can usage, waste management systems and socio-economic factors in 140 countries,” IAI says.

The recommendations are country and region-specific. The research suggests Colombia, Uganda and Vietnam could achieve a 90 percent  UBC recycling rate and “near 100 percent can-to-can recycling” within three to 10 years by investing in their informal collection network and recycling sectors.

Countries such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Malaysia, meanwhile, could boost recycling rates by 20 percentage points by 2030 through measures such as “incentivizing collection via source separation and overcoming logistical hurdles,” according to the IAI alliance.

The plan also identifies countries—including the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Spain—that it indicates can “most likely support” a deposit-return system (DRS) “to further enhance recycling and can-to-can-recycling rates.”

The report’s authors claim recycling UBCs currently landfilled in the U.S. would “offset 18 percent of the country’s aluminum imports.” The report singles out Florida and Texas as states where the volume of UBCs currently headed to landfills is significant.

Scott Breen of the United States-based Can Manufacturers Institute, says, “This discussion at Climate Week NYC demonstrates the power of collaboration across the beverage can value chain. By aligning our efforts, voices and resources, the beverage can industry will achieve higher recycling rates and create a more sustainable future.”