Eunomia’s study for the GBCCA considered two types of recycling rates:
- Collected for recycling rate: tonnage of the relevant material that is sent to a reprocessor as a proportion of the total material placed on the market.
- Recycling rate: tonnage of recycling process output as a proportion of the total material placed on the market.
The GBCCA already had access to rates for Europe, the USA, Japan and Brazil, and asked Eunomia to gather data for more 35 challenging countries.
We used our research into the 35 country level recycling rates to estimate global recycling rates for beverage containers, representing 90% of the global market for aluminium cans, 88% for PET bottles, and 84% for glass bottles.
The study found aluminium beverage containers had the highest collected for recycling rates (76%) and recycling rates (75%) among the beverage formats assessed. In contrast, PET bottles exhibited the greatest difference between collection and recycling, reflecting the high loss rates (23%) applied to the collected for recycling figures.
The study also highlighted that many countries have significant data gaps or only have access to poor quality information on recycling rates and tonnages. Countries can improve the quality and accuracy of recycling rate data through a combination of better collection systems, harmonised reporting methodologies, and stronger traceability requirements.
GBCCA will use the information from the study to develop strategies on how to promote the environmental benefits of aluminium, alongside ensuring that recycling performance continues to improve. The GBCCA is working towards a goal of achieving an 80% recycling rate for used beverage cans by 2030, and close to 100% by 2050.[CC1]
Download the full report on the International Aluminium Institute’s website here https://international-aluminium.org/resources/global-beverage-container-recycling-dataset/
This research was conducted as the first phase of a three-year series and will be repeated in 2026 and 2027.