The Circular Economy Package presented by previous EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik was officially withdrawn last February but the Commission Vice-President Timmermans and current Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella have both confirmed that a new package, due after the summer, will include binding recycling targets.

It has to be said that since the new commission announced its decision to withdraw the Circular Economy Package back in December, intense pressure has mounted from multiple sides. Protests resounded from amongst the European Parliament and EU environment ministers, whilst industry partners and NGO’s put pen to paper and delivered reports labelling the decision as a “scandal” and calling for an improved bill, fast.

Even the recent SOER 2015 report (“The European environment — state and outlook 2015”) edited by the European Environment Agency confirms how waste management is improving but Europe remains far from a circular economy and calls for radical changes.

Interestingly for APEAL, the same report uses the example of steel to demonstrate how recycling can help Europe meet a substantial proportion of its raw material demand. It’s certainly good news for us at APEAL to see the efforts of our industry and partners recognised in this way. More importantly, we are encouraged that the report underlines the opportunities to improve resource efficiency across the EU and we are confident that this will input the new Circular Economy package expected later this year.

On 24 January 1935 a US-based brewery became the first in the world to sell beer in a steel can. It’s now 80 years later and the beverage can has become a modern phenomenon on a global scale.

Beverage cans maintain a certain number of advantages over other packaging solutions. Cans are easy to brand, easy to fill at high speeds, extremely rigid and tough, both on filling lines and at the point of sale, as well as 100% recyclable.

The beverage can attracts all ages due to:

• Style: For consumers, cans are convenient, robust, light, compact, easy to open, and the fastest packaging format to chill. For brands they offer more room to display art and graphics;
• Taste: Contents are protected from water, air and light, which can affect a product’s taste and deteriorate the ingredients it contains. Cans are ideal for carbonated beverages;
• Sustainability: 100% recyclable, compact, light stackable for transport and storage efficiency, delivering increased convenience throughout the supply chain.

As such, demand for beverage cans has shown steady growth of 4% per year on average in Europe for the past 10 years, with the European market currently estimated at 63 billion cans (www.bcme.org).

The original beverage can was made from steel and it dominated the market until the arrival of aluminium as an alternative material in the 1950’s. The aluminium beverage can claimed a weight advantage over steel. However steel cans have become much lighter over time, with a standard 33cl steel beverage that weighed 100g in 1935 now weighing about 20g today, with no loss of functionality. Steel cans are the strongest and most robust material on the filling line and in the supply chain. Steel cans are more recycled too, with 74% of steel packaging recycled in Europe in 2012.

And as our life cycle approach develops an ever more precise picture of the global footprint of tinplate, the sustainability advantage of steel may well push brand owners and fillers to “Take a Fresh Look” at the steel beverage can.

Why is steel the competitive material of choice in a sustainable world? That was the question put to our industry during January’s #steeltalks Twitter debate, hosted by WorldSteel Association.

Business leaders, steel professionals and leading academics were amongst the 440 who took part, asking questions and offering opinions around steel and sustainability.

The key conversations centred on recycling and Life Cycle Assessment, indicative of the development of the LCA tool within our industry. What our industry has already done, and what is it still doing, to reduce CO2 emissions gathered a lot of interest too. 

Steel research trends and development were key for a number of participants, focused on recent improvements and the kinds of innovations necessary to modernise our economies further.

Steel for packaging responded directly to questions about the current recycling rate.

The innovative nature and adaptability of the industry was evident throughout the debate. The economic value of steel was also widely discussed. The global steel industry employs more than eight million people and spends over €10.5 billion a year on improving manufacturing processes, and developing new products and innovative materials.

But the debate actually says a lot more about the industry. It is evidence of a modern approach to communication and a transparency that is not always present among material manufacturers.

The positivity on show when looking back over the tweets in the debate should fill everyone involved with the steel industry with optimism. The steel industry is showing that it can adapt and innovate. It is a vibrant sector and custodian of a truly valuable material resource, both in terms of its economic influence and its environmental benefits.