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of course, it should also be noted that this is still the only packaging industry that ensures a third party, independent verification of its recycling figures. In addition, there are various industry-supported schemes operating throughout Europe to promote recycling. One of the most prominent examples is the Every Can Counts programme, which now operates in 10 countries – and which all BCME members are active in. This communication campaign works to encourage more consumers to recycle the beverage cans they use when they are away from home, with support from a number of funding partners. (Please turn to page 30 for an in-depth look at the Every Can Counts programme.)PERFECT FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMYAll of this is good news for the beverage can industry, as Martin Reynolds, VP External and Regulatory Affairs at Crown Europe, is keen to point out. “The beverage can is ideally positioned for this agenda,” he says. “Aluminium and steel can be recycled again and again without losing any of their structural integrity. With most other materials there is a limit to how often they can be recycled but this is not the case with metal.“For example, if you heat aluminium or steel scrap in a recycling facility to the point where it melts, what comes out is completely the same as what went in. Metal is unalterable, structurally, and that’s what makes it an ideal building block for a circular economy.”Their endless recyclability therefore makes beverage cans a valuable material source for reintroduction into the economy to make new cans or other products – such as building or engine components.Recent statistics for metal recycling in Europe support this idea that aluminium and steel are uniquely placed to help support the CEP legislation. In 2013, the recycling rate was 71.3% for aluminium beverage cans, while for steel packaging it was 75.2%.Indeed, the industry is already meeting the EU halfway with its own voluntary objective of 80% recycling of rigid metal packaging by 2020. And ‘ALUMINIUM AND STEEL CAN BE RECYCLED AGAIN AND AGAIN WITHOUT LOSING ANY OF THEIR STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY. WITH MOST OTHER MATERIALS THERE IS A LIMIT TO RECYCLING BUT THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH METAL’ MARTIN REYNOLDS, VP EXTERNAL AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, CROWN EUROPE36 EUROPEAN CAN MARKET REPORT 2016 CIRCULAR ECONOMY