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This last point emphasises the vital role programmes such as the aforementioned Every Can Counts and the MPE Recycling Mark play in increasing consumer awareness of the correct way to dispose of cans, so they can be easily recycled.ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENTAs of 2015, EU Member States are required to have separate collection and sorting systems in place for a number of materials, including metals. However, there is still much to be done. European Aluminium, for example, strongly recommends that extra investments should be made into the recycling infrastructures of EU Member States – particularly those that are having greater difficulty meeting existing targets. One thing the EU needs to take into account in the coming years is the individual needs of each Member State. Seven of these (Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Malta, Romania and Slovakia) have already been granted five additional years to achieve the targets for municipal waste as stipulated in the Waste Framework Directive. (This derogation does not, however, apply to packaging waste in the PPWD.) “The targets of 75% recycling for both aluminium and steel must be achieved in each Member State by 2025 – it is not an average EU target,” says Reynolds. “It would be useful if the EU could issue guidance for Member States on the Roles and Responsibilities of all actors involved in waste management to complement the Minimum Requirements that are included in the Proposal. “We do however welcome the proposal to move the measurement point of recycling to the input of a final recycling process, rather than after the collection or sorting phase. This will ensure that ‘real’ recycling is counted, which is what the Circular Economy Package is intended to achieve.”There is, then, good cause for the beverage can industry – and indeed the entire metal packaging sector – to view this new Package in a positive light. Reynolds points out that, with the CEP, the policy agenda has shifted since the previous PPWD to favour “those materials that can be and actually are recycled in practice, such as aluminium and steel.” Permanent materials are the ideal building blocks for a circular economy and as such both packagers and drinks brands can expect to feel the benefits from their increased use, as well as continuing to play their part in working towards a more sustainable, innovative and economically efficient Europe.n PERMANENT MATERIALS ARE THE IDEAL BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND AS SUCH BOTH PACKAGERS AND DRINKS BRANDS CAN EXPECT TO FEEL THE BENEFITS FROM THEIR INCREASED USE38 EUROPEAN CAN MARKET REPORT 2016 CIRCULAR ECONOMY