Japan Steel Can Recycling Rises, Aluminum Falls

Japan’s steel-can recycling rate rose for the 13th consecutive year, reaching an all-time high of 92.9 percent for fiscal 2013. But aluminum can recycling rates fell 10.9 percent to 83.8 percent, the Japan Aluminum Can Recycling Association reported Oct. 8. The sharp fall reflected the impact of “a sudden surge of exports of used aluminum cans” to South Korea, the association said. If those exports were recycled domestically, the recycling ratio would have been 98.4 percent, it said. The report is available in Japanese at http://www.steelcan.jp/recycle/index.html.