Fifteen years, over 95% recycling, 18MT GHG emissions avoided - Brazil turns aluminium cans into a climate asset

Brazil’s aluminium can industry is deeply interwined with the country’s economy and lifestyle, and this is not any recent development but the outcome of consistent, decades-long journey that began in 1989 with Latasa’s first factory in Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais. Since then, there is no looking back! Through innovation, collaboration, and awareness, the South American country becomes a global leader in aluminium cans.  And at the core of this lies sustainability. More specifically, Brazil’s ability to leverage aluminium’s defining advantage – infinite recyclability. As awareness of this attribute grew, aluminium cans gained wide acceptance as a preferred beverage packaging solution. In a decade, by 1999, the production of cans hit 10 billion units, and by 2009, it doubled to 20 billion outputs, fueled by rising disposable incomes and increasing environmental awareness. Over time, growing production and consumption were matched by a parallel rise in recycling performance, with Brazil sustaining recycling rates above 95 per cent for more than 15 years.

Economic growth and aluminium can demand move in tandem

Brazil’s aluminium can market closely tracks the country’s economic trajectory. According to the World Bank, Brazil’s real GDP per capita grew from USSD 10,377.59 in 2023 to USD 10,616 in 2024. During the same period, aluminium can sales increased from 32.3 billion units to 34.8 billion units, with a production rate of 32.6 billion cans annually. Till mid-year 2024, Brazil’s per capita aluminium cans consumption was 165 12-can packages per year.