A guide to recycling aluminium cold brew coffee cans
As the popularity of cold brew coffee continues to grow, brands must find rapid, sustainable ways to cater to demand. Packaging the beverage in aluminium cans has become an effective way for brands to maintain quality sustainability efforts within the cold brew sector.
Beyond this, aluminium cold brew coffee cans also help deliver a premium, food-safe product to consumers around the world. As a packaging material, aluminium actively contributes to a circular economy and promotes a greener future. It offers significant environmental advantages over traditional plastic and glass, as it can be repeatedly recycled without losing quality.
Beyond this, recycling uses up to 95% less energy than producing new aluminium, drastically reducing carbon emissions. This keeps aluminium cold brew coffee cans out of landfills and helps contribute to a more efficient and sustainable recycling loop compared to many other materials.
To learn more, I spoke to Nathalia Neira Mateus from Colo Coffee Roasters. She explains the brand’s choice to switch to aluminium cold brew coffee cans and provides insight into its waste recovery programme.
How are aluminium cold brew coffee cans recycled?
When compared to other materials, aluminium cans have a rather fascinating life cycle. The good news is that, when compared to plastic and glass, the entire lifecycle of these cans makes them one of the most sustainable packaging options available in the cold brew coffee industry.
Essentially, the process of making aluminium involves refining bauxite ore, a raw material, to obtain alumina. This is then smelted down into what is known as aluminium. Unlike many other materials, aluminium offers the advantage of being infinitely recyclable, allowing for multiple reuses without any loss in quality.
Once cans are collected, they are sorted, shredded and thoroughly cleaned before being melted down into molten aluminium. The molten metal is then cast into ingots and rolled into new sheets, ready to be made into fresh cans.
Many plastics, on the other hand, lose quality each time they are recycled, often ending up as a lower-grade product. Additionally, the process of recycling traditional plastics is complex and energy-intensive.
Glass is a recyclable option. However, it is a heavier packaging option and requires significantly higher temperatures to melt, consuming far more energy than the recycling process for aluminium.
Collecting aluminium cold brew coffee cans for recycling
So how can brands encourage consumers to recycle cold brew coffee cans? Implementing a return programme for recycling can foster brand and consumer connection.
Colo Coffee Roasters claims to offer Colombia’s first-ever canned cold brew. The brand’s beverage is nitrogen-infused and brewed for 18 hours, without any additional sugar, preservatives, or additives.
“At Colo Coffee Roasters, we are committed to the environment, which is why we’ve developed a waste recovery programme,” Nathalia explains. “This programme includes our cold brew coffee cans because they’re easy to reintroduce into the production cycle.”
So how can you set up a similar incentive?
Set up designated collection points: Ensure your establishment has clearly marked collection bins in strategic locations to encourage consumers to return empty cans.
Partner with recycling services: Develop a relationship with your local recycling services to ensure the success of the programme. Nathalia says that it is “important to have a strategic partner who can [help] with the collection and recovery of the cans.” Nathalia notes.
“This ensures that the resources obtained are directed towards vulnerable populations to improve their living conditions,” she adds. “Our can collection and delivery programme is an excellent way to ensure that the metal is reused, which helps reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption.”
These partnerships assist with the collection, transportation, and processing of the aluminium cans, helping to create a seamless recycling process from start to finish.
Educate consumers: Effective communication is key. Businesses should use everything from in-store signage to social media and even the customisation of their cans to display their brand’s sustainability efforts.
“It’s great to see how the customisation of cans can have such a positive impact on sustainability,” Nathalia notes. “At Colo Coffee Roasters, it’s not just about making products look good, but about telling a story about the diversity of Colombia [while] promoting recycling.”
Customising aluminium cold brew coffee cans
Customisation allows brands to connect with customers, tell a story, and stand out from the competition. A common misconception is that printing onto aluminium cold brew cans is not a sustainable practice. However, two eco-friendly customisation methods are widely accessible: direct digital printing with eco-friendly inks and laser etching.
Direct printing with sustainably conscious inks applies designs directly onto the cans using water-based, non-toxic ink that has proven to be made without harmful chemicals. The cans are usually easily removable during the recycling process, allowing the aluminium to remain fully recyclable.
Alternatively, laser etching engraves designs directly onto the surface of the material, ensuring full confidence in preserving the can’s recyclability while offering a unique look.
Both methods maintain the can’s recyclable integrity and allow it to remain part of the circular economy.
As cold brew is an evolving industry, actions must be taken to reduce the emissions and other environmental threats it poses. For example, one step is to invest in sustainable cold brew coffee packaging, such as infinitely recyclable aluminium cans, BPA-free bottles, and flexible pouches made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), or polylactic acid (PLA).
At Cold Brew Pak, we understand the importance of catering to convenience. This is why we offer bespoke, ready-to-grab aluminium cans. Cans for cold brew coffee are a highly popular option because they are convenient, sustainable, and aesthetic.
Our 100% recyclable aluminium cold brew coffee cans are designed to accommodate a variety of cold beverages and diverse drinking occasions. Lightweight and robust, they offer superior protection against light and oxygen and are infinitely recyclable.
Pair your recyclable cold brew coffee cans with our custom printed can carriers: a sustainable and convenient solution for transporting your cold brew coffee beverages. Available in 4- and 6-packs.
Images courtesy of Colo Coffee Roasters
