Aluminum UBCs Report
Improving Efficiency and Sustainability in Aluminum Beverage Can Recycling, January 2025
In the U.S., aluminum used beverage cans (UBCs) are one of the most valuable types of consumer recyclables and have high potential for direct recyclability with limited losses. However, the national UBC recycling rate (as calculated by CRI) was just 37.2% in 2021, which is dramatically lower than the rate in many other industrialized countries.
Given that recycling of aluminum saves more than 90% of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from virgin materials, and that the U.S. consumes more than one-quarter of all aluminum cans worldwide, CRI undertook a comprehensive analysis of the entire U.S. aluminum beverage can recycling chain. This is one of the first studies to address the issues involved in manufacturing these cans, and how they differ from other aluminum products.
The report finds that aluminum material losses at curbside recycling, materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and secondary melters are financially and environmentally significant enough to warrant discussion on new and expanded methods of aluminum beverage can recycling, sorting, processing and even design.
The data in the report conclusively demonstrate that beverage container deposit return systems (DRS) are the most impactful way to increase UBC recycling rates, with the ability of a nationwide DRS to raise the national UBC recycling rate to 85% – an increase of 48 percentage points over the rate of 37.2% in 2021.
It is imperative that the domestic aluminum can industry improve its recycled content status, because the global aluminum can industry cannot meet its sustainability goals without increased U.S. recycling rates. Improvements also are necessary to support the multi-billion-dollar investments being made to create new capacity in the U.S.
CRI is grateful for the generous support of the Arconic Foundation, without which this report would not have been possible.
