Aluminium Beverage Can Recycling Makes Good Progress in Serbia

On the occasion of the EAA Packaging Group annual recycling seminar organised this year in Belgrade in close cooperation with the Serbian Recan Fund, the promising beverage can recycling rates in Central & Eastern Europe were confirmed. With Poland on top (66%), followed by Estonia (59%) and Slovenia (50%) other countries seem to make good progress as well – the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary already enjoy recycling rates of 40% or more and the Baltic countries, Romania an Bulgaria are now above 30%. This should motivate Serbia to further improve its relatively young can recycling programme, started a few years ago when Recan Fund launched its first can recycling promotion activities.

Mrs Jelena Kis, managing director of Recan Fund used the opportunity to thank the partners of Recan Fund and in particular the Serbian Ministry of Environment for their active support during the past years and is already looking at the future, with even more joint activities.
Mr Aleksandar Vesic, Deputy Minister of the Serbian Ministry of Environment who opened the seminar stressed the economic advantages of collecting and sorting used packaging. He referred in particular to the high scrap value of well sorted used aluminium beverage cans as an important driver for creating extra jobs in the Serbian recycling sector.
Mr Laurent Musy, chairman of the Packaging Group of the European Aluminium Association, which unites the main producers of aluminium can and foil sheet for the production of beverage and food cans, menu trays and other foil products stressed the need to further invest in selective collection and recycling activities as this will make a significant contribution to a more ‘resource efficient’ Europe. End-of-life recycling of used aluminium beverage cans back into new cans or other valuable aluminium products such as bicycles, window frames or engine blocks saves up to 95% energy compared to primary production.

However, he also stressed the need for further improvement and recommended existing collection schemes to focus on a better sorting quality and to include the collection of cans which are consumed ‘out-of-home’. More consistent instructions to consumers as well as improved sorting with the help of modern eddy-current separators should further boost the collection and recycling performance, not only for beverage cans but for the whole aluminium packaging fraction.

Successful additional programmes such as the UK ‘Every Can Counts’ initiative can further help and are now being replicated in other countries. The main purpose of these programmes is to stimulate consumers at their workplace or while enjoying other outdoor activities such as a festival or a sports event to collect and deposit their cans in designated bins. Recan Fund has already launched a number of attractive collection activities like its beverage can ‘Basket Ball recycling game’ for young people.

Both Recan Fund and the EAA Packaging Group strongly recommend that countries further improve their reporting of the recycled quantities of metal packaging, for example by including the quantities which are collected outside regular schemes. Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe have collection schemes run by the private sector, using the high scrap value of aluminium as the main driver. These fractions should be taken into account as well.

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Aluminium is all around us. It is light and strong, corrosion resistant and durable, formable and highly conductive; it has natural shine and is 100% recyclable. Aluminium provides intelligent solutions for present and future generations.
The European Aluminium Association, founded in 1981, represents the European aluminium industry from alumina and primary production to semi-finished and end-use products, through to recycling.
The European aluminium industry directly employs about 255,000 people.

The Serbian Recan Fund was established in 2005 to promote the selective collection and recycling of used aluminium beverage cans. Recan Fund has developed and executed numerous educational and promotional activities aimed at in particular young people, focusing on the environmental benefits of recycling beverage cans, whether consumed at home or outdoors, at music festivals or sport events.