Introduction: Aluminum as a 60-day closed loop
You drink from an aluminum can today, and in roughly 60 days it can be back on the shelf as a new can. That is the practical power of "infinite recyclability" and why Ball Corporation stands at the forefront of aluminum packaging leadership. By combining high recycled content, rapid collection, and advanced light-weighting, Ball Corporation helps beverage brands cut carbon, elevate shelf appeal, and grow revenue—without compromising performance.
Life-cycle carbon: Aluminum cans vs PET bottles
An ISO 14040-compliant third-party LCA conducted in March 2024 compared a standard Ball 500 ml aluminum can (90% recycled content) with an average 500 ml PET plastic bottle. In a U.S. high-recycling context, the aluminum can’s total life-cycle carbon footprint was 61% lower than PET. The drivers are clear:
- High recycled content: Ball’s ReAl technology pushes recycled content to ~90%, sharply reducing raw-material emissions.
- Energy savings: Recycled aluminum saves up to 95% energy vs primary aluminum, translating directly into CO2 reductions.
- Collection and closed loop: U.S. aluminum can recycling averages ~75% vs PET’s ~29%, enabling more consistent material circularity and higher carbon credits at end of life.
In short, when recycling infrastructure and participation are robust, aluminum delivers a step-change reduction in life-cycle emissions. The study’s conclusion aligns with Ball’s broader sustainability platform: improve recycled content, accelerate collection, and keep material in a fast, closed loop.
Production excellence: Golden, Colorado at 2000 cans per minute
Ball Corporation’s Golden, Colorado plant exemplifies the marriage of throughput, quality, and sustainability:
- Speed: Up to 2000 cans per minute (120,000 per hour), translating to millions of units per day on a single high-speed line.
- Light-weighting: 12.2 g per can and ~0.10 mm wall thickness, achieving strength at minimal mass.
- Recycled content: ~92% recycled aluminum in 2024 (exceeding Ball’s ~90% average), with ~70% sourced domestically.
- Precision printing: 360° graphics in up to nine colors, maintaining ±0.2 mm register even at peak line speeds.
- Quality: Five inline visual inspections and an ~0.3% reject rate; off-spec material is remelted and reused.
- Resource stewardship: ~95% process water recirculation, 100% internal scrap recovery, and ~30% power from Colorado wind energy.
As Golden’s technical leadership puts it: upgrading to higher recycled content and faster lines has delivered thousands of tonnes of CO2 savings annually, while safeguarding quality at scale.
Case study: Coca-Cola’s transformation with Ball
Under the “World Without Waste” platform, The Coca-Cola Company partnered with Ball Corporation to accelerate a shift from PET bottles to aluminum cans across North America:
- Phased rollout (2020–2025): From pilot markets to scaled production with new Ball lines in multiple states, enabling billions of custom cans annually.
- Design and performance: Advanced coatings protecting carbonation for up to 360 days, optimized easy-open ends, and precise 360° print for brand identity.
- Supply-chain integration: Co-located or near-site Ball facilities reduced transport emissions and supported 24-hour JIT delivery.
- Recycling infrastructure: Additional aluminum collection points and deposit incentives in select states helped lift packaging recovery.
Results (2020–2024): ~45 billion PET bottles replaced by aluminum cans; an estimated ~2.7 million tonnes CO2 avoided; Coca-Cola’s packaging recovery rose from ~35% to ~62%; can-format sales increased ~18% with a ~$0.20 price premium widely accepted by consumers. In the words of Coca-Cola’s sustainability leadership, Ball became a strategic partner—central to executing on circular packaging ambitions.
Case study: Monster Energy’s 3D “Claw” can
When Monster Energy set out to create a can that could visually “rip” through the shelf, Ball responded with a multi-step deep-drawing approach to form striking “claw” reliefs while preserving structural integrity:
- Forming innovation: Progressive deep drawing to achieve complex 3D geometry at acceptable line speeds (~1200 cans/min for the shaped SKU).
- Strength validation: Reinforced geometry and material distribution delivering >90 psi crush resistance at the stress points.
- Adaptive printing: Custom flexible inks and pressure-controls preserving registration across an uneven surface.
- Commercial impact: +35% sales uplift vs standard SKUs post-launch; ~1.2 billion social impressions under #MonsterClawCan; a 97% first-pass yield achieved after scale-up.
This project demonstrates how Ball’s aluminum packaging leadership extends beyond sustainability to brand storytelling—turning cans into tactile canvases that capture attention and justify premium positioning.
Recycling economics and global performance
Ball Corporation’s aluminum recycling advocacy is grounded in hard economics and international outcomes:
- U.S. recovery (2023): Aluminum cans ~75%; PET bottles ~29%; glass bottles ~31%. Aluminum’s higher value (≈$1,400/ton for used cans) keeps the material flowing, while PET’s lower value (~$300/ton) and sorting complexity limit recovery rates.
- EU leadership: Aluminum can recovery ~82% overall, with deposit-led countries like Germany pushing near-98% compliance.
- Japan and Brazil: Japan ~93% aluminum recovery; Brazil ~97%—demonstrating how policy, culture, and economic drivers create exemplary circularity.
Because aluminum retains quality through infinite loops, each tonne reused saves roughly nine tonnes of CO2 compared to primary aluminum. Pair that with a fast 60-day turnaround and aluminum becomes a rare case of ecological benefit intertwined with economic gain.
Addressing the environmental controversy
No credible sustainability strategy ignores trade-offs. Primary aluminum production is energy-intensive, with lifecycle estimates around 12 tCO2 per tonne of primary metal. In regions with weak collection (<30%), PET’s life-cycle emissions can be lower than aluminum due to the high primary burden.
Ball Corporation tackles this head-on:
- Maximized recycled content: ReAl formulations are already ~90% recycled, with a pathway to even higher content by 2030.
- Deposit and collection advocacy: Working with states, brands, and recovery operators to expand deposit-return systems and curbside collection.
- Clean energy transition: Increasing renewable energy sourcing at plants, aiming to decarbonize manufacturing as grids green.
The takeaway: aluminum’s environmental performance is strongly tied to recycling rates and energy sources. In high-recovery, cleaner-energy markets, aluminum cans demonstrate clear carbon advantages; elsewhere, Ball’s advocacy focuses on improving the recovery infrastructure and energy mix.
Total cost of ownership: Turning sustainability into profit
While the material unit cost of an aluminum can is higher than PET, end-to-end economics often favor aluminum when you consider operations, logistics, recovery revenues, and brand premium:
- Material: Aluminum cans ≈$0.20 each (12 g at prevailing metal prices) vs PET ≈$0.08 each (18 g at typical PET prices).
- Filling and operations: Single-step can filling reduces handling vs two-step bottle blow-mold + fill, often trimming per-unit line costs.
- Transport: Lower mass per unit and better cube efficiency reduce freight costs; brands can move more product within the same weight limits.
- Recovery revenue: At ~75% U.S. collection, used aluminum yields substantially more revenue than PET—offsetting a meaningful share of packaging costs.
- Brand premium: Consumers increasingly perceive cans as higher quality and more sustainable; premiums of ~$0.20 per unit are common in North America for well-executed can programs.
Modeled across a full life cycle (materials, filling, transport, recovery, and premium), aluminum cans can deliver a net advantage of ~$0.23 per unit vs PET in high-recovery markets. That upside compounds across millions of units and becomes a strategic lever for sustainable growth.
Technology: Light-weighting, barriers, and 360° storytelling
Ball Corporation’s continuous light-weighting—from ~85 g in the 1970s to ~12 g today—reflects five decades of relentless engineering. Modern cans maintain >90 psi crush strength while cutting material and emissions. Barrier performance is robust: aluminum blocks light completely and, in combination with advanced internal coatings, preserves carbonation, flavor, and aroma longer than many plastics.
On graphics, 360° high-speed printing puts the entire surface to work for brand storytelling. Textures, metallic sheens, and matte finishes are now standard in Ball’s portfolio, empowering premium cues that reinforce sustainability narratives and justify price uplift.
How this fits with refillables and corrugated boxes
Many brands embrace refillable formats (for example, stainless-steel bottles such as a HydroFlask-style product) alongside single-serve beverage packaging. These categories are complementary: durable bottles serve long-life, personal hydration; aluminum cans serve shelf-ready, carbonated, and fast-moving beverages that require high barriers, lightweight logistics, and mass recyclability.
For shippers and e-commerce, secondary packaging matters too. Custom corrugated solutions—your make-your-own cardboard box templates—help ensure safe delivery and reduce damage, but they are not substitutes for primary beverage packaging where oxygen, light, and carbonation barriers are critical. Ball’s aluminum cans are the primary package; corrugated is the protective outer package for cases and multipacks.
Financing the transition
Moving from PET to aluminum requires investment (line modifications, graphics, supply agreements). Some brands use internal capital; others explore external instruments. While Ball Corporation focuses on packaging technology and supply chain partnerships—not financial products—brands sometimes evaluate options like equipment leasing or even general financing solutions (for example, whether you can get a secured business credit card to manage cash flows). Regardless of the approach, Ball’s teams collaborate on ramp plans, co-location opportunities, and demand forecasting to de-risk the shift and accelerate ROI.
Policy, partnerships, and the path to 2030
Looking ahead, three levers will define aluminum packaging leadership:
- Higher recycled content: Maintain ≥90% and push toward 100% as supply allows.
- Deposit-return and curbside expansion: Broaden coverage to lift collection above 80% in more regions.
- Clean energy manufacturing: Scale renewable power at plants and advocate for greener grids.
As governments enact plastics constraints and brands push toward net-zero, aluminum’s combination of infinitely recyclable material, fast loop time, and strong recovery economics will continue to win. Ball Corporation’s aluminum recycling advocacy—rooted in real data and real plants—helps customers move from intention to measurable impact.
Bottom line
In markets where recycling systems and renewable energy are advancing, aluminum cans deliver both sustainability and profit. The ISO 14040 LCA signal is unambiguous: with ~90% recycled content and ~75% real-world recovery, Ball Corporation’s aluminum packaging can cut life-cycle carbon by ~61% vs PET. Pair that with 2000-can-per-minute lines, light-weighting to ~12 g, and brand-defining cases from Coca-Cola to Monster Energy, and the result is a packaging platform that aligns environmental responsibility with commercial growth.
