Toyo Seikan Co., Ltd., in collaboration with UACJ Corporation, has developed the "EcoEnd" can lid, which reduces GHG emissions by around 40% compared to existing products. This marks the first wide-scale adoption of this technology in both the alcoholic beverage and soft drink industries. Moving forward, the technology may be applied to a broader range of products beyond beer.
Traditionally, the alcoholic beverage and broader beverage industries have relied on can lids made primarily from primary aluminium to ensure optimal material workability. However, primary aluminium production is highly energy-intensive and generates significant GHG emissions. This heavy dependence on primary aluminium has raised environmental concerns, particularly when considering the potential of using recycled materials with a significantly lower carbon footprint.
According to Toyo Seikan, can bodies and can lids require different properties, such as the strength of the aluminium, which necessitates adding a certain amount of new metal to the can lid composition. The "EcoEnd" material reduces the use of new metal and increases the proportion of recycled materials, such as used beverage cans (UBCs), making it closer in composition to the can body. As a result, during the melting process, both "EcoEnd" and the can body material can be considered a "mono-material." After melting, the composition is adjusted so that "EcoEnd" and the can body are manufactured separately while maintaining the same characteristics as before.
