Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• Tinplate or packaging steel is used in great measure in the packaging sector, for example for packaging food, beverages, aerosols, paints and varnishes. The material is distinguished by its impermeability to light and air and its unbreakability.
• The storage of food in cans works without energy consumption.
• The consumption of tinplate for private end consumption packaging in 2020 was 528,200 tonnes (source: UBA).

Material Use During Manufacturing

• The tinplate packaging collected from the private end-user and supplied to the recycling systems is reused in steel production in Germany for the production of new steel. Technically, it is not possible to produce high-quality flat steels, the preliminary product of tinplate, without the use of this scrap. Each ton of steel also contains scrap. In Germany, one can see a recycling rate of almost 100 % as a closed material cycle.
• Tinplate is “multirecycled”, as the material can be used over several life cycles without loss of quality. The inherent properties remain intact (source: TU Berlin 2012). Industry insiders therefore speak of a “permanent material”.
• The recovery of one tonne of steel and iron scrap saves the following primary resources: 1.5 tonnes of iron ore, 0.65 tonnes of coal and 0.3 tonnes of limestone. In Germany, the recycling of tinplate saves some 1 million tonnes of primary raw materials, a considerable contribution to the national and European resource strategy. Moreover, the use of tinplate scrap in steel production reduces energy consumption by up to 75 %.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• Once collected, tinplate is completely recycled.
• In Germany, tinplate packaging is covered nationwide across the dual systems and almost everywhere in the collection system. The significantly smaller portion of the deposit steel beverage cans is separately gathered by the deposit system of the DPG Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH. Technically, this separate gathering is not required since the steel beverage cans are subsequently recycled together with the tinplate packs from dual systems.
• Through the nationwide equipping of sorting systems with magnetic separators, tinplate is sorted out as an independent fraction with a high sorting accuracy.
• In 2020, tinplate in Germany generated a recycling rate (from private final consumption) of 91.9 % (source: UBA).
• Tinplate is 100 % recyclable – as often as wanted and without compromising quality. “Downcycling”, a recycling with a constant loss of quality, does not occur with tinplate.

Development / Background / Outlook

• The German steel industry has continuously improved its processes, including the reduction of energy consumption by 40 % over the last 50 years. In the course of the past decades, product and process innovations also led to a decline in energy consumption during the subsequent production of tinplate.
• The focus of the innovation activities for packaging is the continuous further development to lower material thicknesses. A food can with a diameter of 73 millimeters is now 45 % lighter than in 1974.
• A 0.33-liter steel beverage can weighs 32 % less than in 1985.

UBA Umweltbundesamt (2022): Aufkommen und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen in Deutschland im Jahr 2022.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• Polystyrene, PS for short, is a widely used synthetic material that is used in many areas of daily life and is used either as a thermoplastic or as a foam (EPS).
• The technical production of polystyrene was started in 1931. Today, polystyrene is one of the standard synthetic materials and occupies the fourth place in the production sequence after polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride. In the packaging market PS is now behind LDPE, HDPE, PP and PET.

Material Use During Manufacturing

• Solid polystyrene is clear like glass, hard and electrically insulating. As a packaging material it is especially used where high-quality surfaces and / or brilliant transparency are important.
• Foamed (expanded) polystyrene (EPS, also known as “airpop”) has a lower mechanical strength and elasticity compared to solid polystyrene. Due to the compressibility it can absorb shock loads well and is therefore suitable for the packaging of sensitive goods. It has a very low thermal conductivity, which makes it superlatively suitable for the widespread use as a thermal insulation material.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• PS is very recyclable into new synthetic materials.
• PS used for sales packaging in the retail trade is collected by the dual system at households nationwide in Germany.
• Using near-infrared technology allows the individual types of synthetic materials in the sorting plants to be separated. Today a sorting accuracy of up to 98 % is achieved. This also applies to hard PS. Used EPS packaging is generally good for material recycling. They are taken from the collected goods and delivered to the recycling facilities with special logistics systems due to the low weight.
• The unmixed PS can be processed to regranulate by mechanical shredding. This is then used in the production of, for example, furniture, hangers or folding boxes and many other things that we find in our everyday life.
• PS can also be recycled by melting / fusing using an injection molding process. Polystyrene products are well suited for this, as the properties of the material change only slightly after repeated processing.

Development / Background / Outlook

• By means of the various materials processes, the used synthetic material packaging can either be melted directly to new products or processed to regranulate. This granular recycled synthetic material is a cost-effective alternative to new material and high-quality raw material for the synthetic material processing industry.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• Polypropylene (PP) is similar in its properties and construction to polyethylene and a thermoplastic synthetic material closely related to the hard PE (HDPE). With PP, a wide variety of application-related material properties can be generated, which have been significantly further developed over the recent past. In this regard, PP is also used as a monomaterial in a variety of applications, from the packaging sector to consumer goods applications all the way to the automotive sector, electrical appliances, construction, pipes and much more. In the packaging sector, PP is the second-strongest fraction after PE, accounting for about 21 % of the market.
• PP belongs to the group of standard synthetic materials and was first produced in the 1950s, 20 years after polyethylene or PVC, making it a comparatively “young” synthetic material.

Material Use During Manufacturing

• Just like PE, PP is a fossil-based synthetic material when produced conventionally. In the last few years, the transition of PP from oil to efficient natural gas as a raw material basis has been rigorously pursued so that today, PP today is one of the most raw-material efficient standard synthetic materials produced out of all all the new synthetic materials by mass.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• PP used for sales packaging in the retail trade is collected by the dual system at households nationwide in Germany.
• Using near-infrared technology allows the individual types of synthetic materials in the sorting plants to be separated. Today a sorting accuracy of up to 98 % is achieved.
• PP is generally good for recycling. Thermal recycling, in which only water and carbon are generated, does not pose any problems, releases a large amount of energy through which fossil raw materials can be saved.

Development / Background / Outlook

• The energy consumption required for the production can be significantly reduced by the use of recycled material.
• With help from the various material-related processes, the used synthetic material packaging can be either remelted directly into new products or processed into regranulate. This grained recycled synthetic material is a cost efficient alternative to new material and high-quality raw material for the synthetic material processing industry.
• In contrast to the long-globally traded recycled HDPE, LDPE and PET, PP recyclates have only been able to buy in noteworthy amounts for a few of years. Post-consumer quantities coming from the German collection system, which are marketed as copolymer-like types and used in a large number of applications, from automobile parts to flower pots, are used in this regard.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• Polyethylene terephthalate, known mainly by its short form PET, is a thermoplastic synthetic material, malleable under heat and can be brought into virtually any shape. It belongs to the group of polyester materials. The base material was developed in 1941 in the US.
• Today’s PET is a highly resilient synthetic material and is suitable for packaging, containers, films, textile fibers, and much more. The automotive industry uses high-strength polyester fibers for manufacturing airbags. World production is 40 million tonnes per year. As packaging material PET is used in the form of foil packages, blisters and bottles.
• PET bottles are especially light and make up less than 7 % of the total weight of the product. The associated high transport efficiency helps to limit fuel consumption and CO2 emissions

Material Use During Manufacturing

• The starting products of PET – ethylene glycol and terephthalate compounds – are obtained from crude oil or natural gas. Like other chemical raw materials, however, they may also be produced from plant-based sources.
• A prominent international beverage bottler has launched a PET beverage bottle, whose conventional fossil raw material base has been exchanged to 30 % against renewable, plant-based sources (PlantBottle©).
• The weight reduction of PET disposable beverage bottles also plays an important role in the conservation of resources. Over the past few years bottle weights have been reduced by more than 14 %.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• The major share is taken back in the trade as a paid disposable beverage packaging. For single-use deposit bottles, a return rate of 98.5 % is achieved. The rest of the PET is covered nationwide in Germany by the dual system and nearly everywhere in the collection system.
• Using near-infrared technology allows the individual types of synthetic materials in the sorting plants to be separated. Today a sorting accuracy of up to 98 % is achieved.
• With help from the various material-related processes, the used synthetic material packaging can be either remelted directly into new products or processed into regranulate. This grained recycled synthetic material is a cost efficient alternative to new material and high-quality raw material for the synthetic material processing industry.
• Used PET bottles are a valuable raw material. Recycled PET is mainly used for the production of clothing and textiles, with 20 % of the recycled PET used to produce bottles in bottle-to-bottle recycling.
• In 2006, more than 50 % of recycled material was processed into polyester fibers in Europe

Development / Background / Outlook

• The latest development in the field of PET packaging is the production of bottles containing up to 30 % PET from renewable raw materials.
• Furthermore, an increasing number of bottle manufacturers are using recycled material, which has been produced from withdrawn PET bottles. Today a partial recycling percentage of 60 % is already achieved.

UBA Umweltbundesamt (2022): Aufkommen und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen in Deutschland im Jahr 2022.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• Polyethylene (PE) is the most widely produced and used plastic, accounting for over 30 % of the total world production of plastics. PE is a thermoplastic and belongs to the group of standard-art materials. A distinction is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (called LDPE). HDPE is harder and stiffer than LDPE, can withstand higher temperatures, is less permeable by gases and more resistant to chemicals. LDPE is tougher, more stretchable and more flexible than HDPE. Over 52 % of all plastic packaging is made of PE, the predominant share (2015: 31 % of all plastic packaging) of LDPE and LLDPE.

Material Use During Manufacturing

• The source product of PE -ethylene – is derived from crude oil or natural gas. Like other chemical raw materials, however, ethylene may also be produced from non-fossil, plant-based carbon sources. In Brazil, a sugarcane-based PE (GreenPE) is distributed, which is no different from conventional PE in terms of its chemical makeup and its processing properties.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• The nationwide dual system in Germany collects PE from households which are then used for packaging for retail sale.
• Using near-infrared technology allows the individual types of synthetic materials in the sorting plants to be separated. Today a sorting accuracy of up to 98 % is achieved.
• PE is 100 % recyclable. With help from the various material-related processes, the used synthetic material packaging can be either remelted directly into new products or processed into regranulate. This grained recycled synthetic material is a cost efficient alternative to new material and high-quality raw material for the synthetic material processing industry.
• The product range for recycled PE is diverse: films, garbage bags, canisters and drums, trash cans, drinking water pipes, landfill liners, cable insulations.

Development / Background / Outlook

• In 2015, the proportion of PE in the entire synthetic material processing in Europe was approximately 29 %. An important advantage of PE is relatively simple processing method. The packaging can be easily integrated into the production process and molded on site, filled and sealed.
• In addition, the low packing weight results in low transport costs in relation to the filling material.
• If it is possible to recollect certain types of HDPE packaging from their application fields (e.g. milk bottles) as a “mono-power”, they can feed a recycling process for products suitable for the manufacture of foodstuffs packaging, similarly to PET. Two companies in United Kingdom are already operating processes of this type of post-consumer milk bottles made of HDPE. Other facilities are planned.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• Approximately 58.7 % of paper production in Germany goes into packaging (source: Verband DIE PAPIERINDUSTRIE).
• In accordance with VerpackV, the volume of paper, carton, and cardboard (in German, PPK, for papier-pappe-karton) packaging (corrugated board, folding cartons, cardboard boxes, sleeves, paper bags) was 6.4 million tonnes in 2009 (source: GVM).

Material Use During Manufacturing

• PPK is based on renewable raw materials, either as a primary fiber from renewable wood (so-called broken or thinned wood) or as a secondary fiber from recycled waste paper.
• According to a survey conducted by the Association of German Paper Manufacturers (Verband Deutscher Papierfabriken, or VDP) for the first time in 2007, the surveyed companies were able to provide clear proof of origin for 100 % of the wood used, of which the raw materials originate from sustainably managed forests. Certification systems such as PEFC or FSC verify this.
• PPK packaging is made up of up to 100 % waste paper.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• Waste paper recycling in Germany is based on a comprehensive, high-quality system for the separation of waste paper, and is in many regions based on an efficient collection system. A clean separation by the consumer ensures a high quality of the paper recycling.
• At the end of their life, PPK packaging is recycled for raw material (waste paper recycling).
• Waste paper recycling is a nearly closed material cycle. PPK for packaging purposes can be produced from packaging waste paper again.
• Paper which has come into contact with food must fulfill special requirements. A paper fiber can be recycled seven to eight times.
• Waste paper is a valuable and internationally traded secondary raw material with a considerably positive market value.
• In 2020, the recycling rate was 89.4 % (source: UBA).

Development / Background / Outlook

• Newly developed surface seals and equipment keep moisture, odors and other disruptive influences away from the product.
• Equipment with microchips and electronic circuits, e.g. for safe drug administration.
• Energy consumption per tonne of paper specifically has been reduced by over 16 p in Europe over the past 10 years.
• 53 % of the primary energy used by the paper industry in Europe comes from renewable sources, e.g. biomass.

UBA Umweltbundesamt (2022): Aufkommen und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen in Deutschland im Jahr 2022.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• 44 % of glass production in Germany was used for packaging in 2015.
• 65 % of all container glass is in the form of beverage bottles, with nearly 26 % in glass jars and 9 per cent for cosmetics and pharmacy.
• Based on the production value, the proportion of glass packaging for foodstuffs in 2015 was around 7 % (source: GADV).
• In Germany the consumption of glass was 3,135,200 tonnes in 2020 (source: UBA).

Material Use During Manufacturing

• Glass is produced from natural, domestic raw materials such as quartz sand, soda, limestone and dolomite, which are almost unlimited in nature.
• The most important raw material for glass production is recycled glass. Glass can be recycled without loss of quality. On average, glass packaging is made up of 60 % recycled glass. For some colors, the proportion can be up to 90 %.
• The use of recycled glass saves energy and resources: using 10 % of waste glass reduces the melt energy by 3 % and CO2 emissions by 3.6 %.
• Glass is an inert packaging material which has practically no interaction with the filling material.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• Glass is virtually endlessly recyclable and can be recycled without any loss of quality and is recycled in a nearly closed cycle. This means that old glass packaging serves as raw material for new glass packaging.
• The recycling system for glass was brought to life in 1972 as a delivery system by the glass industry. It is an existing and functioning system, in which around 97 % of households participate. Color separation by the consumer is worthwhile as the recycled glass can be reused for the respective colors and a high level of recycling is ensured.
• There are more than 250,000 container collection points at central points throughout Germany. The campaign “Nicht alles passt ins Altglas” (“Not all used glass passes”) helps the consumer to dispose of old glass properly (www.was-passt-ins-altglas.de).
• Returnable disposable glass bottles are traded through a deposit system.
• The recycling rate in 2020 was 84.2 % (source: UBA). Recycled glass fragments have a considerably positive market value and are an internationally sought-after commodity.

Development / Background / Outlook

• Through more efficient production techniques, weight reductions and the use of recycled glass, a total of 63 % of energy was saved from 1968 to 2013. The physical-technical minimum is nearly reached during the production of container glasses.
• One of the most important innovations in the container glass industry is the development of light glass technologies. Through this, the weight of different glass packages has successfully been reduced by up to 40 %. The weight reduction contributes to considerable raw material and energy savings.
• For example, the weight of the standard one-liter wine bottle has decreased from 600 grams to about 345 grams since 1975.

UBA Umweltbundesamt (2022): Aufkommen und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen in Deutschland im Jahr 2022.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• Around 182,000 tonnes of beverage cartons were brought into circulation in Germany in 2020 (source: UBA).
• Composite cartons are used as packaging for different foodstuffs, e.g. beverages, liquid dairy products, puréed and diced fruit and vegetables, soups, sauces, etc.

Material Use During Manufacturing

• Approximately 75 % of beverage carton consists of cardboard coated with PE. For packaging of fresh products that do not require an oxygen barrier (aluminum), it is about 80 %.
• The cardboard is made from renewable raw material wood. Only wood from FSC-certified forests or other controlled sources is used. 70 % of all beverage cartons already carry the FSC label – in the year 2020 it should be 100 %.
• Due to food laws, no secondary raw materials are used In beverage carton, for example.
• 90 % of the energy consumed during the production of the carton comes from biomass.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• Beverage cartons are covered across the dual system and almost everywhere in the collection system in Germany.
• Through the nationwide equipping of sorting systems with NIR scanners – in which beverage carton producers were substantially involved – beverage carton is sorted as an independent group with higher sorting accuracy.
• Apart from small fluctuations, the recycling rate of beverage cartons has been above 65 % for years. In 2020, beverage cartons reached a material utilization rate of 77.5 % (source: UBA).
• The fiber content of the beverage carton can be recovered using standard wastepaper processing methods. Various paper and cardboard qualities are produced from this, e.g. corrugated board papers, folding cartons, sleeve cartons, plasterboard, etc.
• There are several recycling processes for the polyethylene / aluminum residues. The synthetic as well as the aluminum components are recycled energetically, but can also be used as secondary raw materials for the production of different synthetic and aluminum products.

Development / Background / Outlook

• Since the mid-1980s, manufacturers of beverage cartons and their primary material suppliers have been using life cycle assessments as a tool to constantly optimize processes and production at all stages of the life cycle.
• For example, the share of renewable raw materials will be further increased by the increasing use of closures made from biopolymers. Alternatives for polyethylene and aluminum foil coating are also worked on.
• First large-scale systems for the separation and recycling of PE / Al residues are in operation. Other promising methods are in trials.

UBA Umweltbundesamt (2022): Aufkommen und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen in Deutschland im Jahr 2020.

Manner and Scope of the Material’s Use

• In the field of packaging, aluminum is used because of its special material properties. The protection of sensitive food, beverages and pharmaceuticals is the main focus.
• About 11 % of the aluminum used in Germany goes into packaging.
• The use of aluminum packaging, e.g. cans, bowls, tubes, was 139,900 tonnes in 2020 (source: UBA).
• Aluminum foil is also used as a smaller “partner” with regard to weight in combination with other materials, for example as a cover or in combination with plastic and paper
• Aluminum packages are lightweight and have a small percentage of the total weight of the packaged product.

Material Use During Manufacturing

• Aluminum is extracted from ore bauxite and, increasingly, from scrap of used products.
• The energy demand for producing primary aluminum is covered by about 75 % of the world’s hydropower.
• In Germany, more than half of the produced aluminum is produced from aluminum scrap.
• The recycling of aluminum saves 95 % of the energy required for primary production.

Collection / Sorting / Recycling

• Beverage cans in the deposit system are redeemed on trade. All other aluminum packages are covered by the dual system and collected almost anywhere in the collection system.
• Regardless of their size, aluminum packages are sorted out cost-effectively and with high efficiency through the sorting facilities’ eddy-current separators.
• In 2020, the recycling rate for aluminum packaging in private end-use was 94.9 % (source: UBA).
• Aluminum can be recycled infinitely often and without quality degradation.

Development / Background / Outlook

• In the case of metal production, greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by about 52 % since 1997 due to a higher share of renewable energies and process innovations.
• In many aluminum packages, the material strengths and thus the use of resources have been reduced ever further, while maintaining product protection properties; In the main applications by 25 to 40 %.
• The future-oriented packaging design focuses on optimizing the use of resources throughout the entire lifecycle and an effective protection function for the content. Reducing food loss through spoilage is an increasingly important challenge.

UBA Umweltbundesamt (2022): Aufkommen und Verwertung von Verpackungsabfällen im Jahr 2020.