The number of cans filled in Europe rose 3.7 per cent to 59 billion in 2012, despite a fall of one per cent in beer consumption across the continent and no change in the overall consumption of soft drinks.
The figures, released yesterday (28 February) by Beverage Can Makers Europe (BCME), which funds recycling programmes Every Can Counts and MetalMatters, show an increase of around 2 billion extra cans on 2011.
BCME attribute the increase in can production to ‘strong performance in Eastern Europe’ where the number of cans filled grew by 5.7 per cent. Domestic soft drink growth in Hungary, for instance, saw its can production rise by nearly 28 per cent.
Western Europe also saw an increase of 3.2 per cent in can production, ahead of GDP growth for the region.
Compiled by Canadean on behalf of BCME, the figures reveal an increase in the delivery of cans across Europe. Despite a drop in beer consumption, delivery of the alcoholic drink increased by four per cent across Europe, while delivery of soft drinks increased by 3.4 per cent, particularly in Nordic regions.
Canadean believe that these figures reveal ‘a long-term shift away from refillable glass bottles in the beer market towards cans’. They argue that due to a difficult ‘macroeconomic climate in the Eurozone’ consumers are becoming more likely to drink at home, rather than in bars and restaurants.
According to Canadean, this shift in drinking habit is being fuelled by ‘some brewers’ introducing smaller cans in an effort to lower prices and ‘appeal to an increasingly price sensitive European consumer’.
BCME Marketing Committee Chairman, Welf Jung, said: “The increase in can fillings in Europe is further confirmation of the resilience and strength of the can.
“Cans are already a very popular packaging choice for beer, soft drinks and energy drinks owing to their ease of filling, cubic efficiency, convenience, and endless recyclability.
“The continual improvement in recycling rates across Europe is further confirmation that consumers are responding positively to industry programmes, such as ‘Every Can Counts’ created by BCME, which promote a recycling culture.”
This follows news that a review into the performance of recycling programme, MetalMatters, found that on average, the programme led to a 20.9 per cent increase in the amount of metal packaging captured for recycling.
Read more about sustainability at BCME.
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
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