1. Collection — Kerbside, Deposit-Return and Industrial
European UBC enters the recycling chain through three main channels. Kerbside collection — bins picked up by municipal contractors — generates the largest volume in countries without deposit-return schemes. Deposit-return systems (Germany's Pfand, Netherlands' statiegeld, Scandinavia's panteflasker) generate cleaner streams because cans are returned individually rather than mixed with other waste. Industrial collection — beverage filling plants, distributor returns, event venues — generates concentrated bulk streams.
The cleanest UBC feedstock comes from deposit-return systems because the cans are uncontaminated by other waste and the metallic recovery rate exceeds 90% of the kilograms placed on the market. Kerbside streams require more sorting downstream but contribute the bulk of European tonnage.
2. Material Recovery Facilities and Sorting
Mixed recyclables from kerbside collection flow through Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) where automated sorting separates aluminum from steel, plastic, glass and paper. Eddy-current separators eject aluminum from the conveyor by inducing magnetic fields that repel non-ferrous metals. Optical sorters using near-infrared spectroscopy identify aluminum cans by their characteristic spectral signature.
Output from a modern MRF is typically 95–98% aluminum by weight at the eddy-current stage, with the balance being non-magnetic contamination (small plastic fragments, glass shards). Further hand-picking or air-classification removes residual non-metallic material before baling.
3. Baling and Densification
Sorted UBC is fed into a horizontal or vertical baler that compresses the cans into rectangular bales typically 1.0 × 1.0 × 1.0 m or 1.1 × 1.1 × 1.5 m, weighing 250–500 kg each, secured with steel strapping. Bale density runs 350–500 kg/m³. Bales are the standard form for ocean export because they stack efficiently in 20-foot containers and resist deformation during multi-week transit.
Densified UBC — material run through a hammer mill or shredder before baling — achieves higher density (550–700 kg/m³) and loads 21–22 MT per 20GP versus 18–20 MT for standard bales. Densified material commands a tighter LME discount because the freight-per-tonne is lower and the smelter feed is more uniform.
4. Quality Verification Before Export
Before bales are released for export, each lot is sampled and checked for the specifications that matter to the smelter buyer: moisture (target below 2%, free liquid below 1%), magnetic content (below 1%), organic content (below 4%), and non-aluminum metallic contamination (below 1%). Modern yards use handheld XRF guns to verify aluminum content and detect anomalous metal inclusions.
The yard issues a written declaration covering the verified parameters which travels with the container and forms part of the export documentation. Pre-shipment inspection by SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek or CCIC adds an independent verification layer for buyers who require it; the inspector attends container stuffing, draws representative samples and issues a certificate.
5. Consolidation and Loading at Rotterdam
Bales are trucked from MRFs and processing yards across Northwest Europe to consolidation yards within the Port of Rotterdam catchment. Each consolidation yard segregates UBC by grade — densified separate from standard bales, Talc separate from Taldon — and loads containers as orders are confirmed.
A 20-foot container takes 18–22 MT depending on bale density and stacking pattern. Containers are floor-lined, photographed before doors close, weight-verified on a calibrated 60-tonne bridge, and sealed with high-security bolt seals. Seal numbers print on the packing list and the bill of lading.
6. Ocean Transit to Asian Secondary Smelters
From Rotterdam, UBC containers move on weekly direct sailings to the major Asian deepwater ports — Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Chittagong, Port Klang, Ho Chi Minh, Haiphong, Busan, Shanghai. Transit times: 18–22 days to West India, 22–26 days to Bangladesh, 24–28 days to Vietnam and Malaysia, 26–32 days to North China and Korea.
On arrival, containers clear destination customs under the pre-arranged inspection regime (BIS in India, CCIC in China, SGS-witnessed in Bangladesh and Vietnam) and move by truck or rail to the buying smelter's site. The full chain from European recycling bin to Asian smelter gate typically takes 60–90 days.
7. Re-Melt into Secondary Aluminum Sheet Ingot
At the smelter, UBC bales are broken open and fed through a delacquering kiln that removes the printed lacquer coating by thermal decomposition. Delacquered material then enters a side-well rotary or reverberatory furnace, often with chloride or fluoride salt flux to reduce magnesium oxide formation. Molten aluminum is alloy-corrected — adjusting Si, Mg and Mn content — and cast into sheet ingot suitable for rolling mills.
Recovery yields exceed 92% of UBC bale weight as cast aluminum, with the balance being dross (recycled separately), lacquer combustion products and unrecoverable fines. The cast ingot returns to rolling mills that produce new can body and end stock, completing the can-to-can recycling loop within 60 days from European retail to Asian smelter to new can.