82 percent of UK consumers continue to buy goods in recyclable packaging despite the cost- of-living squeeze.
This is according to a recent consumer survey conducted by Ball Corporation*.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation was 10.7 percent in November 2022 and 10.5 percent in December 2022.
While there have been differing predictions on the overall rate of inflation in 2023, there is a consensus that the cost-of-living crisis will continue to put financial pressure on consumers in the UK.
The survey focused on consumer attitudes to aluminium cans and sustainability across Europe.
More than 80 percent of consumers in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy also continue to buy goods in packaging that can be recycled, according to Ball Corporation’s findings.
As consumers become more eco-conscious, there is a rising demand from across Europe for more environmentally friendly products and packaging.
Aluminium cans are currently the world’s most widely recycled beverage packaging with a UK recycling rate of 82 percent and 72.8 percent across Europe, according to a recent Metal Packaging Europe and European Aluminium report1.
Once recycled, beverage cans can be back on shelves in shop floors within 60 days.
Making cans from recycled aluminium avoids 95 percent of the emissions and energy associated with using virgin metal. Aluminium can be recycled over and over without losing quality and regardless of colour.
Ball is working with industry leaders, including customers and communities to achieve a targeted can recycling rate of 90 percent by 2030, and for new cans to be made with 85 percent recycled material.
Recent data from Ball also shows that consumers resonate with the ‘Metal Recycles Forever’ (MRF) message2.
1 Metal Packaging Europe & European Aluminium report – https://european-aluminium.eu/wp- content/uploads/2022/12/14-12-2022_European-Aluminium_Report-alumnium-beverage-can-recycling-rates- 2020.pdf
2 Metal Recycles Forever logo launched by Metal Packaging Europe in 2014 – https://www.metalrecyclesforever.eu/what-is-it/
Representatives from over 50 countries have now applied to use the MRF logo and, from 2021-2022, there has been a 66 percent increase in applications compared to 2019-2020.
Real circularity requires dramatically improving recycling rates by investing in green infrastructure, educating consumers, and designing fully circular products.
Carey Causey, President, Ball Beverage Packaging EMEA said:
“Consumers increasingly demand more sustainable goods and packaging options that can be easily recycled. Our survey shows that this attitude and behaviour continues in spite of the financial pressures of the cost-of-living crisis, but our research also confirms that there is a clear knowledge-gap around the sustainability benefits of infinitely recyclable aluminium.
“By increasing the awareness of these attributes, we can increase the amount of recycled material in the market and enable consumer to make simple choices for a more circular economy.”
