With funding from Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings, the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) is taking a comprehensive approach to spurring the installation of additional can capture equipment in material recovery facilities (MRFs). It started with foundational research in 2020, a grant program with The Recycling Partnership in 2021, tools for MRF operators in 2022, and now additional grant and lease options in 2023. See below for more information. MRF operators interested in having testing done at their facility or financing options from CMI should reach out to Scott Breen, CMI’s Vice President of Sustainability, at sbreen@cancentral.com.
THE LATEST: 10.26.23 Press Release: Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings Fund Two Additional Recycling Facility Grants for Can Capture Equipment
2023 LEASES
2023 GRANTS
10.26.23 Press Release: Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings Fund Two Additional Recycling Facility Grants for Can Capture Equipment
5.4.23 Press Release: Aluminum Beverage Can Manufacturers Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings Fund Additional Can Capture Grants at Recycling Sortation Facilities
Aluminum beverage can manufacturers Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings are funding a new grant opportunity as part of their continuing support of activities to spur the installation of additional aluminum can capture equipment in material recovery facilities (MRFs), which sort single-stream recyclables. This new grant opportunity builds on the five grants in 2021 that exceeded expectations when nearly 140 million aluminum beverage cans were captured and recycled each year due to the improvements with annual impacts of more than $2 million generated for the recycling system. As with the 2021grants, the new grants will be offered through The Recycling Partnership, the leading national force for improving recycling. Several grants will be awarded on a rolling basis to MRFs. More information on the grant opportunity can be found at https://recyclingpartnership.org/aluminum-can-capture-grants-for-mrfs/.
2022 TESTING & TOOLS
2021 GRANTS
- 12.14.21 Press Release: Texas Recycling Facility Fifth Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
- 11.8.21 Press Release: Milwaukee Area Recycling Facility Latest Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
- 8.18.21 Press Release: Recycling Facility in Florida Latest Recipient of Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program Funded by Ardagh Metal Packaging and Crown Holdings
- 4.13.21 Press Release: Recycling Facilities in North Carolina and Texas Are Initial Recipients of Can Manufacturers Institute’s Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program
- 1.27.21 Press Release: Request for Proposals Released for Can Manufacturers Institute’s Aluminum Beverage Can Capture Grant Program
2020 RESEARCH
A study conducted by Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) for CMI, Aluminum Beverage Can: Driver of the U.S. Recycling System, found that the relatively high value of used beverage cans (UBCs) make them essential to the country’s network of MRFs. In fact, the report found that without the revenue from UBCs, most MRFs in the United States would not be able to operate without making significant changes that would ultimately affect the cost of recycling to consumers. Still, the report also found that up to 25 percent of UBCs are missorted at a typical MRF, which do the important job of sorting single stream recyclables. This can missortation finding was a primary motivator for the grants, leases, tools, and other aspects of the effort to spur the installation of additional can capture equipment in MRFs.
- Full Report: Aluminum Beverage Can: Driver of the U.S. Recycling System
- Infographic: Aluminum Beverage Can: Driver of the U.S. Recycling System
- Webinar: How Beverage Cans Can Further Drive the U.S. Recycling System with Additional Can Capture Equipment at Material Recovery Facilities WEBINAR VIDEO | PRESENTATION PDF
- Press Release: New Research Shows Aluminum Beverage Cans Are Essential to Recycling System Economic Viability | Additional Investment to Capture Missorted Cans Generates Needed Revenue and Pays for Itself
- Grant Program Announcement: Can Manufacturers Institute, Ardagh Group and Crown Holdings Offer 2021 Grants for Aluminum Can Recycling
- Examples of MRF’s Who Have Successfully Added Aluminum Can Capture Equipment
Quotes from the Webinar
“In 2018, about 13 million metric tons of metal went to the landfill and were unrecovered. Of that 13 million tons about 1.5 million tons were aluminum used beverage cans. At current commodity values, that’s a $1 billion opportunity that’s being missed.”
Jon Powell, Vice President, Closed Loop Partners
“Ultimately, we are processing more tons per hour, which allows for a better return on investment. We estimate that this upgrade decreased the contamination of containers in our paper by 50%.”
Kate Davenport, Co-President, Eureka Recycling
“We have a robot on our residue line that has been programmed specifically to prioritize high-value materials such as used beverage cans.”
John Hansen, Co-Owner, Single Stream Recyclers
“Once a can starts to get flattened either in a “pancake” or a “puck,” it may end up on the residue or paper line. This material is sent to the landfill or ends up as a contaminant in the paper bale. In this scenario, the MRF is ultimately either paying to throw the cans away or creating lower-quality paper bales.”
Jeff Lacey, Senior Staff Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy
“If an average MRF processes 50,000 tons per year of recyclables in a non-bottle bill state, that could mean that MRF is losing 275 tons of UBCs in a year. This comes out to 18.5 million cans and nearly $300,000 in lost revenue, which would be about 8.3 percent of that MRF’s gross revenue stream.”
Corinne Rico, Project Manager, Gershman, Brickner & Bratton
“Aluminum producers and can makers are able to easily turn used beverage cans into new aluminum cans that have a low environmental footprint because of the high amount of recycled content.”
Scott Breen, Vice President for Sustainability, Can Manufacturers Institute
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Breen, VP of Sustainability, CMI | sbreen@cancentral.com.