Calculating the
Aluminum Can Recycling Rate

CRI's methodology for calculating the aluminum can recycling rate differs from that employed by the Aluminum Association, an industry trade organization. In computing the UBC recycling rate, which is derived by dividing the number of cans recycled by the number of cans sold (i.e., those available for recycling), the Aluminum Association includes domestic and imported scrap cans in the numerator, but only domestically-produced (and sold) new cans in the denominator. This methodology produces an artificially high recycling rate because it includes cans which were not originally sold on the U.S. market. By deducting the 7.78 billion imported scrap cans from the numerator, CRI has derived a domestic recycling rate of 54.5%

Before 1990, so few scrap cans were imported from abroad that their inclusion in the numerator did not significantly affect the recycling rate derived. In 1991, just 2 billion scrap cans were imported only 2.2% of the number of cans sold domestically. By 2000, however, that number had grown to 7.8 billion imported scrap cans, or almost 8% of the number of cans sold domestically. (See a graph of the increase in UBC imports)

In other words, the effective gap between the recycling rate derived by the Aluminum Association and that derived by CRI is much wider now than it was in 1991, even though the recycling rates for 1991 and 1999 are virtually identical according to the Aluminum Association (62.4% and 62.5% respectively).

Attention was first brought to the issue of imported UBC's by Steve Apotheker, editor of Container Recycling Report, in a 1998 editorial.  Apotheker suggested that an easy solution to the problem would be for the associations' annual surveys of aluminum mills and processors to include the question, "What UBC volumes were purchased from other countries?"

In a letter dated April 7, 1999, Elizabeth Cotsworth, Acting Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste wrote, "the methodology suggested by the Container Recycling Institute in determining aluminum can recycling rates is consistent with the recycling measurement methodology used by the EPA."  The EPA has also amended their own recycling statistics accordingly.

Nevertheless, the Aluminum Association continues to widely advertise a 62.1% UBC recycling rate for the year 2000, and even goes so far as to say "almost 2 out of 3 cans are recycled" on their website and in their media kits.  This conveys a sense that the current UBC recycling is extremely high (especially in comparison to the recycling rates of other packaging materials), and understates the true cost of wasting in energy and environmental terms.

Calculating the 2004 Used Aluminum Can Recycling Rate*

The Aluminum Association method:

The Container Recycling Institute/
Environmental Protection Agency method:

Example uses figures from the year 2004.

* Accurate data on imported and exported filled cans are unavailable. The U.S. Department of Commerce collects information on new imported and exported beverages by beverage type, but not by container material. Based on their aggregated data, CRI made estimates on imported and exported filled cans, making assumptions on the proportion of imported and exported beverages in aluminum cans as follows: 70% of the carbonated soft drinks; 8% of the mineral water, 100% of the beer, and 100% of aluminum cans between 355 ml and 3.8 liters (raw import/export data is in liters; converted based on 12 ounces per unit). Our estimates are: 2.3 billion imported filled cans and 1.4 billion exported filled cans, for a net import of 0.9 billion cans. But because this is only an estimate, we have not used it in computing the recycling rate as shown above In any event, the difference in recycling rates produced is negligible (about 0.4%).