In its latest report, Steel for Packaging Europe indicates that 82% of steel packaging placed on the market was recycled in practice in 2023 and underlines steel scrap’s potential in still-developing laws and initiatives.
The statistic was calculated using the EU’s harmonized methodology, and it has been independently verified. Apparently, it makes steel packaging the ‘most widely recycled’ packaging material in Europe as of 2023.
According to the report, all steel packaging formats adhere to the technical and practical criteria for recyclability due to the absence of multi-layer components.
With the European Commission expected to solidify Design for Recycling criteria by 1st January 2028, Steel for Packaging Europe claims that steel packaging is ‘well-positioned’ to meet the higher recyclability grades A and B under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
A high recycling rate for steel packaging is anticipated to improve circularity and strengthen the internal market for secondary raw materials. It is also expected to support the EU Single Market by helping to boost resource efficiency, lower environmental impact, and level the playing field via harmonized performance targets.
Over 90% of the European population lives within 200km of a steel plant, the report states. This is expected to unlock local, practical, and sustainable recycling for steel products across the continent.
“In the steel for packaging industry, the recycling process follows the proximity principle, ensuring that steel scrap is efficiently delivered to nearby steel plants, maximizing sustainability and reinforcing a highly efficient, circular production chain,” the report reads.
It goes on to specify that the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation does not yet provide a mandatory recycled content target for steel packaging, and Steel for Packaging Europe explains that recycled steel packaging is utilized across various steel products.
However, Steel for Packaging Europe expects the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s upcoming review clause to close the loop on recycled steel.
“With regard to the review clause foreseen by 2032, the steel for packaging sector remains confident that the European Commission will implement this provision with due consideration to the unique properties and circularity of steel and its contribution to a wider recycling system,” the report continues.
Steel is often described as ‘infinitely’ or ‘permanently’ recyclable, as it maintains its quality through multiple rounds of recycling. Steel for Packaging Europe adds that steel scrap has a positive value and keeps the overall cost of recycling low, and that its magnetic properties make it easy to separate from other components.
As such, the company expresses its support for ‘transparent and proportionate’ Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees that cover the collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging materials. It argues that attributing financial and operational responsibility to packaging producers will ensure that systems are properly funded and effective.
For steel packaging, specifically, EPR fees are set to further the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s goal of keeping materials in circulation at their highest quality, and to minimize the need for new raw materials.
“Packaging materials should cover their own costs in these processes, thereby avoiding cross-subsidisation, whereby a material pays part of the costs generated by another material, and ensuring a more effective and equitable packaging waste management system,” the report states.
“A well-functioning EPR system must start with fair net costs for producers, ensuring that the full cost of waste management and data reporting is covered transparently. Building on this, it should reward circular performance linking fees to packaging design features such as Design for Recycling (DfR) and the use of permanent materials.
“To achieve this, eco-modulation should play a key role. Across material categories, fee structures can be differentiated to incentivise more recyclable designs, for example, by rewarding packaging that is easier to recycle or made from materials with higher recycling efficiency. In this way, eco-modulation becomes a practical tool to encourage innovation and support circular and competitive product design.”
The report rounds off by calling upon EU institutions to maintain high ambition in the pursuit of a circular economy.
“By focusing on the policy structures that identify and regulate the steel for packaging environment and on technical developments in steel recycling processes, this report presents an in-depth evaluation of the current state of the steel for packaging industry,” comments Steve Claus, secretary general of Steel for Packaging Europe.
“Our report also clearly illustrates why steel for packaging is the best choice to ensure compliance with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, as well as underlining the importance of optimizing collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure.”
Back in 2024, Steel for Packaging Europe reported that the continent had reached a record recycling rate of 80.5% for steel packaging. This followed the announcement in December 2023 that steel packaging had met its EU recycling rate target for 2025, four years ahead of schedule.
Since then, the European Commission has adopted the 2025-2030 working plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and Energy Labelling Regulations. Steel and aluminium are among the list of priority products to implement eco-requirements and energy labelling by the end of the decade.
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