Brazil recycled approximately 33 billion aluminum cans in 2021, which represents 98.7% of reuse of the material produced throughout the year. The figures were released this Wednesday (13) by the Brazilian Aluminum Association (Abal) and the Brazilian Association of Aluminum Can Manufacturers (Abralatas). 
The two entities together form Recicla Latas, an organization that manages the term of commitment for the improvement of the reverse logistics system for aluminum beverage cans. This term was signed by the sector’s associations with the Ministry of the Environment in 2020. In it, the associations guaranteed the maintenance of the recycling rate of cans at a level of 95%, in compliance with the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS). Reverse logistics is the process of reinserting discarded material into the production chain.
According to the entities, this is the highest index in the history of can recycling in the country, since the beginning of the mapping in 1990, being also one of the highest in the world. Of a total of 33.4 billion cans sold, about 33 billion were collected for the recycling process. As a result, approximately 1.9 million tons of greenhouse gases were no longer emitted into the atmosphere, according to calculations by business associations.
The aluminum recycling rates in Brazil are considered exemplary, especially in recent years, with rates that exceed 96% of reused cans, after completing their production, consumption and disposal cycle. This life cycle is usually short, approximately 60 days separate the manufacture of a new aluminum can and its return, as raw material, to the industry.
“For more than ten years, the recycling rate for aluminum cans has been at levels above 96%. Brazil is benchmark (reference) in the sector for the world, thanks to the joint efforts of the entire supply chain and the investments of the aluminum industry in the modernization of the sector and in the expansion of collection and recycling centers”, highlights Janaina Donas, president of Abal.
low overall index
Despite the excellent results of the aluminum sector, the recycling of other products widely consumed in the country is low. The most challenging case is that of plastic. Despite being the fourth largest consumer of the raw material in the world, Brazil recycles only 1.29% of plastic, according to a study by WWF Brazil with data from the World Bank, released in 2019. The percentage differs greatly from the numbers reported by the Brazilian Association of the Plastic Industry (Abiplast), which indicates that just over 23% of plastic waste are recycled in the country, according to 2020 figures.
In any case, the general rate of recycling of solid waste in the country is still around 5.3% of the total potentially recoverable, according to data from the National Sanitation Information System (SNIS). The survey is contained in the most recent edition of the Diagnosis of Urban Solid Waste Managementpublished in December last year, but with consolidated data for 2020.
