Record! Aluminium beverage can recycling across Europe has reached a new high, with 76.3% of cans recycled in 2023 in the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, according to the latest joint figures from Metal Packaging Europe (MPE) and European Aluminium (EA).
The new record comes as both consumption and recovery continued to climb. MPE and EA report that volumes of cans placed on the market increased by 4% year on year, while recycling tonnages rose by 7%: a sign that more used beverage cans are finding their way back into Europe’s circular economy. The result also marks a rebound from 2022, when the overall rate stood at 74.6% (reported as 75%) amid faster growth in production and consumption than in collection and sorting.
Beyond the headline number, the climate case is central. The associations estimate the recycled aluminium delivered a total greenhouse gas saving of 5.7 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent. Recycling aluminium, they add, typically requires around 95% less energy than producing primary metal, which is why every additional percentage point captured has an outsized impact in decarbonisation terms.
Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) are once again singled out as a key accelerator. In Malta, which introduced a DRS during the reporting year, the recycling rate for aluminium beverage cans reportedly jumped from 50% to 80% in 2023. Latvia and Slovakia, both early adopters (DRS launched in 2022), also saw double-digit improvements the following year: from 60% to 74% in Latvia and from 58% to 91% in Slovakia. By 2023, the organisations say 12 EU Member States had implemented DRS for aluminium beverage cans, with more schemes in the pipeline.
Industry leaders are using the results to push for faster rollout and better-performing collection systems. “Well designed Deposit Return Schemes offer consumers the additional incentive to return high value aluminium beverage cans for high quality recycling,” said Andy Doran, Director of the Packaging Group at European Aluminium. Metal Packaging Europe CEO Krassimira Kazashka added that the momentum “demonstrates that the pathway towards fully circular, can-to-can recycling… is taking shape across Europe.”
Nevertheless, a recycling rate of 76.3% means that almost one in four cans is not being captured, which is a significant issue given that the sector is targeting ‘100% circularity’ by 2050. The message for brand owners and retailers is clear: performance will increasingly be judged not by recyclability in theory, but by the results delivered by collection systems in practice. The report highlights the need for stronger national collection and sorting infrastructure, more consistent DRS implementation and measures to ensure that high-quality aluminium scrap is available for European remelters, enabling closed-loop, can-to-can recycling to be scaled up.
