Novelis has announced that it has achieved a record of recycling two million tons of aluminium cans at its recycling center in Yeongju, Korea.

This means that the center has recycled a total of 133.3 billion aluminum cans since it began operations in 2012. Recycling this number of cans has prevented 20 million tons of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to annually planting 340 million trees.

The Yeongju Recycling Center has established a closed-loop recycling system that recycles used aluminum cans into new ones in as little as 60 days. It has the largest aluminum can recycling capacity in Asia. With continuous investment, it currently has an annual production capacity of 340,000 tons of low-carbon aluminum sheet ingots.

The center recycles more than 18 billion beverage cans each year. The corresponding Novelis Yeongju plant is recognised for sustainable production as it has recently been fully certified by the Aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI), a global standard certification body in the aluminum industry.

Recycling aluminum cans contribute to minimising the impact on the environment by reducing energy use and natural resource mining. Aluminum recycling can lower carbon emissions and energy consumption by 95%, respectively, compared to producing new aluminum from mined resources.

Operating state-of-the-art aluminum recycling facilities in Asia, Europe, North America and South America, Novelis recycles 74 billion aluminium cans annually. The company recently announced the construction of a new recycling center in South Korea to meet the growing demand for low-carbon, sustainable aluminum products. It plans to open the facility with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons in Ulsan, Korea, by 2024.

“Aluminum is an ideal material for the low-carbon circular economy since it is infinitely recyclable and therefore eco-friendly,” said Sachin Satpute, President, Novelis Asia. “Novelis will develop more technologies and spur investments to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.”

Novelis announced its sustainability goals in April last year, committing to become carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner and to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2026. The company also set goals of cutting energy and water use by 10% and reducing waste to landfill by 20% by 2026. In its plan, the company also aims to work toward a fully circular economy, and to create a more diverse, inclusive and safe workplace.