Food Cans Made From CO2-reduced Tinplate

German tinplate manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Rasselstein has launched the world’s first food can made from CO2-reduced packaging steel. A recent survey showed that there is a need for consumer education on the subject of tinplate food cans.

Few consumers are aware of tinplate as a packaging material. This was the result of a representative survey conducted by the initiative weissblech-kommt-weiter.de. The survey, which was conducted in January 2023 in cooperation with the opinion research institute YouGov among more than 2,000 people in Germany, also found that 41 percent of respondents almost always or often made sure to select environmentally friendly packaging when shopping. 32 percent sometimes took this into account. The survey also showed that there swas a need for education among consumers. According to the survey results, 76 percent of respondents did not yet know, for example, that CO₂-reduced tinplate is available from which food and beverage cans, crown corks, or screw caps can be made.

Food cans made from CO₂-reduced tinplate

Tinplate scores highly as a packaging material thanks to its good recycling properties, the initiative emphasizes. After proper disposal (yellow garbage can or deposit machine), it remains in a closed material cycle and, after recycling, becomes a new high-quality steel product such as a bicycle part or the component of a wind turbine.

A new product on the market is CO₂-reduced tinplate made from bluemint Steel by German manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Rasselstein. In this product, alternative input materials are used in the steel production process. This reduces the use of coal for the reduction process in the blast furnace. Up to 69 percent CO₂ can currently be saved with tinplate made from bluemint steel, the company says. The YouGov survey shows that 50 percent of consumers would rather buy food cans made from CO₂-reduced tinplate than cans made from conventional tinplate. The first products made from CO₂-reduced tinplate can already be found on supermarket shelves: herbal candies from the Swiss company Ricola in a can and NaturRein fruit spreads by Zentis, the twist-off Caps of which are made from the innovative tinplate. Nicole Korb from the initiative weissblech-kommt-weiter.de explains: “We see a trend that the market for these products is developing dynamically. More and more consumers and food manufacturers are paying attention to more sustainable products and packaging. And with tinplate made from bluemint Steel, a CO₂-reduced solution is already available today.”