FMCG News – How did Brazil achieve its 100% aluminium can recycling rate – and can it be replicated in the EU?
Brazil’s recent achievement of a 100% recycling rate for aluminium cans sets a new global benchmark. Discover the inside story from Abralatas’ executive president, Cátilo Cândido, as he unveils the strategies behind this exceptional success and provides insights into how Europe can replicate this significant environmental milestone.
To start with, could you introduce this landmark achievement and give us some insights into how it has been achieved?
Our recycling model is mature, very well structured and with sufficient capillarity to access and process all UBC´s discarded in Brazil. The can has been growing in consumer preference, with different formats and sizes, and conquering more and more space in the houses in Brazil.
In 2022, we recorded a flow of cans for recycling greater than the volume we sell. It is an unprecedented situation, the result of inventory adjustments throughout the production chain, but which once again confirmed that we are able to absorb and recycle the entire volume of cans consumed in the country, which resulted in the unprecedented rate of 100% recycling of cans.
What’s next for your industry now that this landmark has been achieved? What will your focus be on?
We will be focused on maintaining this index and increase the recycled content, modernizing ourselves, improving the quality of life for waste pickers, and encouraging the growth of the circular economy.
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