Steel packaging exceeds EU’s 2025 recycling target, according to Apeal research

21 Dec 2023 --- Steel packaging has already met its new EU recycling rate target for 2025, four years ahead of schedule, according to new independently verified figures published by Apeal, the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging. 

The achievement follows the introduction of a harmonized method for calculating packaging recycling rates within the EU, which Apeal welcomed as a step toward creating a level playing field for all packaging materials in Europe. 

Steve Claus, secretary general at Apeal, tells Packaging Insights that the newly published figures correspond to the amount of packaging that is “really recycled” and not just collected, “aligning with the progressive approach adopted by the EU. These figures reveal that 78.5% of steel packaging was ‘really recycled’ in 2021 — equivalent to nearly eight of every ten steel packaging items put on the market.”

Previously, EU member states utilized varying methods to determine their recycling rates for different materials. This led to inflated rates and concealed the recycling challenges associated with multi-material packaging formats, says the association.

Introducing a harmonized method brings more accuracy and transparency to the European packaging industry, says Apeal.Most widely recycled packaging 
Apeal highlights that introducing a new methodology, focusing on the amount of material recycled at the entrance of recycling operations, signifies a shift toward accuracy and transparency in the European packaging industry.

“This achievement means that the EU steel recycling rate target of 70% by 2025 has already been reached. It is a clear endorsement of steel packaging’s attributes, which have helped to ensure it remains the most widely recycled primary packaging material in Europe, and demonstrates why steel is so well aligned with the EU’s vision for a circular economy,” stresses Claus.

“By focusing on actual recycling tonnages rather than collected or sorted tonnages, Apeal and its partners aim to collectively build a greener, more circular future, further promoting sustainability and resource conservation in the packaging industry.”

Representing all market segments
Claus says that not all countries have implemented the new recycling rate calculation methodology stipulated by the Circular Economy Package (CEP) and the subsequent Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), which guarantees that only the accepted tonnages at the entrance of the recycling operations are used to calculate the recycled tonnages, instead of collected or sorted tonnages. 

“Implementation of this new, harmonized methodology is a vital component in creating transparency and a level playing field, not only for the member states, but also for the packaging materials, as only real recycling will be reported. However, while several EU member states adopted the new EU calculation methodology last year, and more have implemented the updated rules this year, we continue to navigate a transitional period, with eight member states still adhering to the previous regulations.”

“It is also significant that some materials and packaging formats continue to report collection rates which apply only to specific market segments. In contrast, the recycling rate reported for steel packaging, calculated according to the new EU methodology, represents all market segments in which steel packaging is used,” asserts Apeal’s secretary general.Claus highlights that steel’s permanent quality ensures it can be recycled without any loss in material quality.

Keeping steel in the loop
In April 2018, the association welcomed the formal adoption of the CEP by the European Parliament more than two years after its first publication by the European Commission. 

In addition to endorsing the concept of “multiple recycling,” in which products and packaging made from permanent materials, such as steel, are kept in the material loop and can become resources for other products and packaging, the CEP defined new recycling targets for all materials, explains Claus.

“The figures confirm that steel remains the most widely recycled sales packaging material in Europe, a testament to its unique properties and the collaborative efforts of stakeholders across the value chain to maintain a 100% closed material loop,” he says.

Claus highlights that steel’s magnetic properties make it easily recoverable from any waste stream, and its permanent quality ensures it can be recycled repeatedly without any loss in material quality.

“These attributes have allowed steel to remain the most widely recycled primary packaging material in Europe for another year running and demonstrate why steel is so well aligned with the EU’s vision for a circular economy,” he concludes.

By Natalie Schwertheim