Aluminum Cans: Planet-Friendly Packaging

New studies carried out to determine the relative carbon footprints of different kinds of beverage packages point to aluminum cans as among the most environmentally responsible choices.

Recycling Is Key to Reducing Aluminum Cans’ Footprint
A recent life-cycle assessment study on metal beverage cans undertaken by PE International, and supported by Hydro Aluminum, Novelis and Alcan, showed that the environmental advantage of 500-ml aluminum cans surpasses that of steel as soon as the recycling rate exceeds 42 percent. At a 100 percent collection rate, aluminum cans have roughly half the emissions of carbon-dioxide equivalents compared with steel cans, the study adds.

PE International’s life-cycle analysis took into consideration material production, can and lid manufacture, and recovery and use of secondary raw material via existing collection schemes.

The study’s results demonstrate the clear correlation between can collection rates and environmental performance. The higher the aluminum recycling rate, the lower the ecological impact of aluminum cans—in both absolute terms and when compared with steel cans.

Canned Wine Boasts ‘Space Efficiency’ Over Bottles
A second study, carried out by Incept on behalf of Rexam, examined the environmental effects and carbon-dioxide emissions of transporting wine in aluminum cans compared to shipping it in glass bottles.

Its conclusion? Canned wine produces fewer carbon-dioxide emissions than bottled wine during transportation due to its relative space efficiency.

Specifically, the study found that:

• Slim cans have half the carbon-dioxide transport-related emissions of equivalent 750-ml wine sold in glass bottles;
• Compared to glass bottles, to save one metric ton of carbon-dioxide, only 5,330 cases of 250-ml slimcans need to be sold;
• Wine, in both 200-ml and 250-ml cans, produces fewer transport-related carbon-dioxide emissions than other packaging formats.

According to Nick Gazzard, CEO of Incept, the study used a new methodology developed as part of an ongoing sustainability initiative by Beverage Can Makers Europe and Incept to isolate transport-related emissions savings related to cans. “Often the costs and emissions of specific packages are lost in averages, and this information helps to save money and the environment by identifying the differences and the opportunity,” he said.

The Ever-Shrinking Aluminum Can
Beyond aluminum cans’ advantages relating to its “stackability” and high rates of recycling, its light weight gives it an additional environmental edge over many competing packaging formats.

Broomfield, Colo.-based Ball Corporation over the past 40 years has pursued “lightweighting” as a fundamental part of its business for both economic and environmental reasons. The canmaker has repeatedly reduced both the end diameter of its cans and the amount of aluminum used in its can bodies—to the point where its aluminum cans use 40 percent less aluminum today than they did in 1970.

Ball further notes that:

• Aluminum cans are the lightest-weight beverage container—at 34 cans per pound—enabling savings in shipping and handling costs throughout the entire supply chain; and
• The average post-consumer recycled content of an aluminum can is 44 percent—the highest recycled content of any beverage container.

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