Major price increase for recycled aluminium cans

Novelis has increased prices by 100 per tonne, such that a tonne of loose cans delivered to one of the company's collection processors will now fetch 800, with baled cans at 850 per tonne.

” We have brought our prices in line to be competitive and to encourage our suppliers to increase the amount that they supply.“
– Keith Guest, Novelis
The price increase has come because of continuing strong demand for aluminium on the world markets – particularly driven by the furious economic growth in China and India.

Novelis commercial manager Keith Guest told letsrecycle.com the production of various metals is not keeping up with the growth in demand on the world stage.

Shortage
Mr Guest said: “We have seen a general increase across the board in metals – there is a global shortage of metal at the moment. We have brought our prices in line to be competitive and to encourage our suppliers to increase the amount that they supply.”

Novelis reprocesses aluminium cans at its 35 million plant in Warrington, which is the only plant in Europe dedicated to the melting down of aluminium used beverage cans.

Mr Guest said: “We have a plant here that can deal with 125,000 tonnes of cans every year and we want to make sure that all of the 90,000 tonnes the UK produces comes to us.” The company also takes in cans from Scandinavia.

The Novelis commercial manager also said he hoped the increased price of aluminium cans offered by his company in the UK would help increase recycling rates in order to meet packaging producer responsibility targets in 2006.