Aluminum France enthusiastically welcomes the publication of the roadmap for a 100% circular economy (FREC). For many years, the aluminum industry has been committed to reducing its impact on the environment and developing recycling. The almost infinite recyclability of our metal allows secondary aluminium to save 95% of the energy required for its primary production. Despite these strengths and an already operational recycling sector, the sector is encountering certain difficulties.

An operational recycling channel but insufficient material: waste
More than 50% of the aluminum produced in France comes from recycled waste [1] and 75% of the aluminum that has always been produced is still in use [2] : its immobilization therefore delays its recycling. Imposing to incorporate more raw materials from recycling would not make sense for aluminum since the current market for aluminum scrap does not meet demand.
The main challenge for our industry is therefore not to impose the incorporation of aluminum waste but to find the latter in sufficient quantity and quality.

Exports of aluminum waste escaping French recycling factories
Since 2011, cash payment for retail purchases has been banned in France, a measure that does not exist in neighboring countries. This situation generates illegal exports which considerably harm the French recycling industry. To remedy this, Aluminum France wants the ban on cash purchases to be taken up at European level. This would make it possible in particular to secure companies and employees who no longer manage cash and to fight against metal theft. It is regrettable to note that this proposal is not taken up in the FREC.

The necessary improvement in waste sorting and collection for an efficient recycling process
To advance the results of aluminum recycling, we must move towards improving the sorting and collection of aluminum waste. This requires discussions between the various stakeholders (e.g. determining effective incentives for sorting household waste, equipping sorting centers with eddy-current separators, etc.) and would also make it possible to recycle an alloy of aluminum in the same category of alloy thus avoiding dilution or “downcycling”.

The instruction deserves to be studied in depth with all the stakeholders before any experimentation.
Certain principles should guide the reflections so as not to call into question an already efficient system in several respects: equal treatment between the different packaging materials, avoiding a disproportionate additional cost of the new system, improvement of the quality of sorting between packaging, etc.

[1] 420,000 tonnes of primary aluminum and 500,000 tonnes of recycled aluminum produced in 2017.
[2] Source: “Global Aluminum Recycling: A Cornerstone of Sustainable Development”, International Aluminum Institute, 2009.

Download pdf version