Recycling of steel packaging at 80.6%

The 418,091 tonnes of steel packaging recycled in 2022 in Italy can make 4,180 km of railway lines, enough to connect Rome to Istanbul.

Italy’s standing of excellence at European level for the sorted collection of steel packaging has been confirmed with a recycling rate that exceeds the 80% level fixed by the European Union.

According to the data published by RICREA (National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Steel Packaging – part of the CONAI System) on 19 May 2022, 418,091 tonnes of steel packaging, equivalent to 80.6% of the amount of steel put on the market for consumption, were sent to recycling. Italian citizens have, therefore, made a significant contribution to the sorted collection of jars and cans, spray cans, crown caps, capsules, fancy boxes, cans, barrels and drums. In the last year, the pro-capita amount of steel packaging collected was an average of 4.4 kg per inhabitant.

A total of 490,223 tonnes of steel packaging (+6% against 2021) were collected from public and private areas: this was possible also thanks to the ANCI-CONAI Framework Agreement which, through the stipulation of agreements, promotes the development of sorted collection in order to embark on a virtuous recycling path. 446 agreements are in currently force, for a total of 6,089 Municipalities involved and 51,033,932 people served. The Italian population covered by agreements in 2022 was 86% (+1,5% compared to 2021).

As Domenico Rinaldini, Chairman of RICREA points out, in underlining the perfect circularity of this material, easy to sort and recycle:

«Last year we reached nearly 81% of steel packages sent to recycling, already exceeding today the European goals set for 2030. And this is also thanks to the numerous communication initiatives at national and territorial level, and from the synergic and tried-and-tested contribution of all the operators in the supply chain. With the 418,091 tonnes of steel packaging sent to recycling in Italy, we have achieved a saving of 6,750 TJ of primary energy and avoided both the use of 398,000 tonnes of virgin raw materials, and the emission of 548,000 equivalent tonnes of CO2»

(RICREA data based on LCC Conai analyses).