Peak value in 2024: 94.3 percent of tinplate packaging from private end consumption recycled

In 2024, 94.3 percent of tinplate from private end consumption was recycled in Germany. The recycling rate for total tinplate consumption also reached a peak of 92.5 percent. It has remained stable at around 90 percent since 2006. These figures were determined by the Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung (gvm) in its recently published annual recycling report for packaging.

“Tinplate is one of the leading materials in terms of recyclability and the epitome of true circularity, as it can be recycled almost 100 percent, over and over again, without any loss of quality. This makes tinplate an important building block for a resource-efficient future,” said Clarissa Odewald, CEO of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH, Germany's only manufacturer of tinplate. “A tinplate can, a twist-off closure, or a crown cork can be recycled after use into a new, high-quality steel product – for example, a wind turbine, a car component, a bicycle part, or even another can.” The characteristic properties of the metal allow steel to be melted down again and again and processed with pig iron from the blast furnace into crude steel and then into a new steel product. The material cycle is closed.

Positive trend: Consumers are disposing tinplate packaging correctly in the recycling bin

The 1.5 percentage point increase in the recycling rate among private end consumers compared to the previous year shows that consumers are increasingly internalizing the importance of disposing of packaging correctly in the recycling bin. “This is a very positive development for the environment and a way to conserve primary resources,” says Odewald. “However, we must not rest on our laurels, but should continue to work on improving the rate.”

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein has been successfully supplementing the activities of the dual systems since 2021 by educating end consumers about packaging materials and waste separation. Through its website https://www.weissblech-kommt-weiter.de and the Instagram channel of the same name, the company provides information on the correct disposal of tinplate packaging, the recycling of packaging materials, and the use of food cans.

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein itself contributes to effectively closing the material cycle by ensuring the recycling of packaging steel in Germany through its own return systems – DWR – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Weißblechrecycling mbH for the private sector and Kreislaufsystem Blechverpackungen Stahl GmbH for the commercial/industrial sector.

About thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH is one of the world's leading suppliers of high-quality tinplate. At its site in Andernach, Germany – the largest facility of its type worldwide – the company has an annual production capacity of up to 1.5m tons of packaging steel. More than 2,000 employees serve international customers across a wide range of markets – from producers of food and pet food cans to manufacturers of aerosol cans, packaging for paints and coatings or containers for hazardous goods, as well as crown corks and closures. This makes thyssenkrupp Rasselstein the first port of call for experts who know exactly what counts in the packaging industry. With the excellent expertise of its employees and thanks to the high efficiency of its innovative packaging steels, the company finds reliable solutions for the diverse requirements of its customers.