More than four out of five of the aluminium beverage cans used in the UK last year were recycled, according to the latest figures published by National Packaging Waste Database by the Environment Agency.

Beverage cans represented a large proportion of the aluminium packaging collected in the UK, which totalled a record-breaking 162,357 tonnes nationwide. That was an overall recycling rate of 68%.

But for beverage cans alone, the rate was 81%.

As demand for aluminium packaging has grown, used packaging collected through kerbside, bring and on-the-go systems increased by 13% year-on-year, while tonnage recovered from incinerator bottom ash (IBA) shot up by 17%.

Tom Giddings, executive director of UK aluminium recycling organisation Alupro, said it is pleasing to see that recycling rates have more than kept up with consumption.

“As an industry, we’ve been investing heavily in optimising our collection and recycling infrastructure for the past 20 years and we’re now reaping the rewards of this long-term commitment. Despite ongoing delays and uncertainty surrounding proposed changes to national recycling legislation, the sector is continuing to deliver over and above annual targets.

“Aluminium is quickly becoming a material of choice for many brands, hence the growth of the domestic market. Alongside boasting a wide range of superior benefits for packaging applications, it’s a safe material to work with from a sustainability perspective. Having robust national recycling systems in place is the icing on the cake, enabling used packaging to be recycled over and over again – the perfect circular economy.”

Chris Latham-Warde of Every Can Counts, Alupro’s communications programme aimed at driving drink can recycling, added: “Such an impressive recycling rate reflects ever-increasing public awareness about environmental issues and the widespread benefits of recycling. As we continue into 2024, we remain optimistic that the impact of these initiatives will help to further improve best practice recycling behaviours and drive collection figures even higher.”