Steel packaging industry wants landfill tax increase, separate collections

Steel for Packaging Europe, the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging, has outlined its industry priorities for the 2024-2029 term. The organisation aims to put circularity at the heart of Europe’s economy while promoting recycling rates for steel.

Steve Claus, the Secretary General of Steel for Packaging Europe, spoke with Euractiv’s Christoph Schwaiger about why Europe needs to focus on the lifecycle of steel packaging, ideally leading to improved recycling rates.

CS: A legislative priority you’re pushing for is the phasing out of throwing steel packaging in landfills. Where does this motivation come from?

SC: It’s silly to throw away valuable material, especially material that is highly recyclable. We should be keeping it as long as possible in the circular economy. We need to convince people not to throw their steel packaging away with their general waste but to recycle it.

In some countries, it’s still ending up in landfills, although luckily, you just need a magnet to extract the steel scrap.

In terms of legislation, I think that landfill taxes need to be imposed and be increased. This would incentivise the municipalities and all stakeholders to do the right thing and stop relying on landfills.

What also helps is the fact that the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation dictates that all packaging needs to be recyclable or reusable by no later than 2030. It would be silly if we’re still using landfills after that, especially since steel is reusable and recyclable.

Our vision is to no longer have steel packaging scrap going to landfills by 2025 – which is tomorrow. While we may not achieve this target, we're doing our best to increase recycling rates and to keep that material in the loop.

CS: You’re also calling for the separate collection of steel packaging. How would this work in practice?

SC: In terms of legislation, we also have the Waste Framework Directive, which mandates the separate collection of paper, glass, metals, and plastic. Unfortunately, it’s not enforced.

Europe has state-of-the-art legislation, but it needs to be enforced together with penalties.

I live in Belgium, where we have the so-called blue bag for collecting plastics, metal, and drink cartons. It’s mandatory for all citizens to put the correct waste in this bag. It then goes to a sorting facility, and there, the steel packaging is taken out simply by using a magnet. With state-of-the-art sorting facilities, you can easily extract all the other valuable materials. You collect them, sort them, and then sell them.

The good thing about steel is that you can use it over and over again to make new products. But we want to further increase recycling rates and boost separate collections.

CS: So would you say this is mainly about implementing policies that we have right now, or do we need new ones to reach our 2030 targets?

SC: I think they are good, and as opposed to in the past, where we had a Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive that needs to be translated into national legislation, it is now a regulation to be enforced in all the member states. Application is one thing, but what is also very important is communication. We must invest in repeating the message that consumers must sort their waste.

It already starts in kindergartens where they organise games about separate collection. This separate collection cannot only happen at home, it must also happen outside. This is why we need to invest in bins. Residual waste bins must be next to those for recyclables. If they aren’t next to each other, people are going to throw their waste in the first bin they find.

CS: Another priority for your organisation is designing for recycling. As you mentioned, steel can even be picked up from a landfill with a magnet. So, what further opportunities exist to make steel more recyclable?

SC: Steel is really a circular material. Even if steel packaging comes with a paper label or an inner coating of plastic, this does not interfere with steel’s recycling. Steel is turned into its liquid phase at a very, very high temperature, burning off everything else.

You could, of course, design products that are stored in packaging that’s entirely made of steel. However, that might not be so consumer-friendly.

What we’ve been doing over the years is to make the steel packaging increasingly thinner. Is this really a case of designing for recycling? It’s probably more about being able to reduce the amount of primary raw material needed in the first place.

CS: We know that people are concerned about the environmental impact of their choices as consumers. However, we also know that they also value a good deal. How can we ensure that European steel is still competitive compared to steel coming from China, for instance?

SC: While Steel for Packaging Europe is not dealing with trade, I’d say that we are right to put the bar very high when it comes to protecting our environment. However, we also need to consider what we import. We need to put the bar equally high for imports coming from outside of Europe as the steel manufactured here.

CS: Steel production comes with a hefty environmental price. What about recycling steel? What does its environmental impact look like?

SC: Recycling steel also requires energy, and carbon dioxide is released. But when you compare the primary route of steelmaking to its recycling route, there you find big advantages.

You save around 60% in carbon dioxide. One tonne of recycled steel saves you 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide and avoids the use of over 2 tonnes in primary raw materials. Recycling steel also consumes 70% less energy than producing it from scratch.

CS: You’ve also identified a third pillar to focus on, which is reducing food waste through steel packaging. Similar to the design question, have we reached the peak here, or is there still room to improve?

SC: One never reaches the top, of course, but the benefits of steel packaging compared to other types of packaging are significant. We can offer long shelf lives with a guarantee that the food won’t lose its nutritional elements. You also don’t require energy to store it – you don’t put your steel cans in a fridge, for example.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

[ Edited by Brian Maguire | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab ]