In 2024, 94.3% of tinplate from private end consumption was recycled in Germany. The recycling rate for total tinplate consumption also reached a peak of 92.5%. It has remained stable at around 90% 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%, 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.

The 1.5 percentage point increase in the recycling rate among private end consumers compared to the previous year shows that consumers are increasingly internalising 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.”