John May, manager of Corus Steel Packaging Recycling said the increase reflected overseas demand for scrap metal from the UK.
“We relate the price for clean cans to their actual value. This increase comes from the scrap metal market overseas which has grown significantly, particularly in the past year. China's booming economy means the country is taking every scrap it can for its steel industry,” explained Mr May.
He said that local authorities could collectively get an income of nearly 40 million at the moment from steel cans. “The value that can be gained from recycling steel cans is higher than it has ever been. There is roughly 500,000 tonnes of steel cans suitable for recycling at the moment, times that by 75 a tonne and this means that about 37 million is currently available for recycling these cans,” said Mr May.
The UK is currently recycling about half of the amount of steel packaging available in the waste stream, and though the flow is steady at CanRoute centres, Mr May said the country still had a long way to go with steel can recycling.
Corus Steel Packaging Recycling currently operates more than a dozen CanRoute centres dotted around the country and in the first five years, 53,982 tonnes of steel were recycled through the centres.
The centres are designed to make it easier and quicker for local authorities by allowing them do drop of their cans at more convenient locations. The cans are baled at the centres before going back into the steel industry.
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