Record year for the beverage can

The beverage can industry reports a growth course. In 2018, more consumers bought cans than in the previous year. In particular, sales of beer cans were good, according to the manufacturers.

3.51 billion cans were consumed in Germany in 2018. This is an increase of a good 23 percent compared to 2017. 41.3 percent of the 3.51 billion beverage cans drunk were filled with beer. The can is also an impulse driver in this segment – it is growing against the trend in the declining beer market. “The popularity of the beverage can continues unabated. The combination of disposable and returnable cans has now been learned by consumers and accepted as an alternative to reusable cans. The large bottlers are investing in new lines because of the high acceptance of the can, and the discounters are listing the can, explains the Beverage Can Forum.

“The beverage can is a popular product among consumers and retailers, and its strengths are convincing,” says Stephan Rösgen, Managing Director of the Beverage Can Forum. The great popularity of the ever lighter, practical beverage packaging, the curve of which shows a steady upward trend after the introduction of the uniform deposit system in 2006, can be attributed to many reasons. “Consumers appreciate the fact that the can is handy and space-saving, cools the contents quickly and has unbeatable advantages, especially when on the move or when single portions are required. Moreover, as a modern recycling product, the can makes an important contribution to conserving resources”. The beverage can is the most recycled beverage packaging in the world. In Germany, the recycling rate is 99 percent.

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Made from permanent material, the can, unlike most other packaging materials, can be melted down and recycled almost indefinitely without loss of quality. The recycling of aluminium, for example, saves 95 percent of the energy required to produce primary aluminium. Thanks to the existing infrastructure, metal is easy and inexpensive to recycle.

The Beverage Can Forum represents the packaging manufacturers Ardagh Group, Ball Beverage Packaging Europe and Crown Holdings. The objective of the Beverage Can Forum is to educate, promote and support the communication of the beverage can in Germany.

The graphic of the Beverage Can Forum shows the sales of beverage cans in Germany in the years 2005 to 2018 (in billions).