Steel: Italy close to the European recycling targets for 2030

The RICREA Consortium announces record data relating to the national recycling of steel packaging in 2018: the rate is the highest ever, equal to 78.6% of that released for consumption (+ 5% compared to 2017) for a total weight of 386,895 t, equal to that of 13 medium-sized aircraft carriers.

In Italy, the separate collection of steel packaging in 2018 has reached an unprecedented goal, thanks to the commitment of the entire supply chain, starting from the citizens who, every day, correctly differentiate jars, boxes, tins, cans, drums, buckets, cans, caps and steel closures, allowing them to be recycled and reborn into new life.
The data collected by RICREA - National non-profit Consortium for Recycling and Recovery of Steel Packaging - was released in May, at the annual meeting (table 1).
«A steel packaging recycling rate of 78.6% is the highest ever for our country,” explains Domenico Rinaldini, President of RICREA. «Thanks to the continuous awareness-raising activities and enhancement of the importance of recycling, we are very close to the European target of 80% to be reached by 2030».

More is recycled, and better
Last year, 386,893 tons of steel packaging were sent for recycling, equal to the weight of 13 medium-sized aircraft carriers.
Permanent material, which can be recycled indefinitely without losing its qualities, the steel recovered from packaging in 2018 in Italy allowed a direct saving of 735,094 t of iron ore and 232,137 t of coal, in addition to 692,553 t of CO2.
The trend, which is growing strongly (+7.1% compared to 2017), highlights not only the increase in collection, which reached 459,187 tons (+ 6.8%), but also the higher quality of the recovered material, in progressive improvement.
The percentages of coverage of the sampled mass (graphs 1 and 2) are, in fact, much increased compared to the total collected by ANCI-CONAI Conventions, with a coverage of 92% at national level, divided into North (95%), Center (91%) and South (88%).
The figure demonstrates the good results of the awareness-raising activity towards the Participants (ie the operators of the Separate Waste Collection service) carried out by the RICREA Consortium, in line with the guidelines of the ANCI-CONAI Framework Agreement *, in order to obtain a cleaner and more efficient collection, thus avoiding situations with high rates of “dirty” segregated collection that generate low recycling rates, high costs and clogging of the selection plants.

The gap between North and South is smoothed out
Even the territorial coverage values are constantly increasing, both on the total number of Municipalities involved (5.970) and on the inhabitants served (86% of the total), with a considerable increase in the number of active agreements (+10% compared to 2017), stipulated on the basis of the ANCI-CONAI Framework Agreement (graphs 3.1, 3.2 e 4). «To achieve this important goal - Rinaldini underlines in this regard - the regions of Southern Italy, such as Sicily, Calabria and Puglia, previously not very receptive but now increasingly attentive and improving, have contributed in particular to the quantities collected. Our goal is to continue on this path to grow further, together with the Municipalities, operators and above all thanks to the commitment of the citizens».

* ANCI-CONAI Framework Agreement is the instrument through which the consortium system guarantees to the Italian municipalities the coverage of the higher costs incurred to carry out the separate collection of packaging waste.