10.06.2022
The Aluminium Association was a co-organiser of the plenary session titled 'Import Substitution Prospects in All Segments of Aluminium Containers, Packaging and Sealing' held on June 7 as part of RosUpack, the 26th international exhibition of the packaging industry. The event at the Crocus Expo IEC became a platform to bring together representatives of the Aluminium Association, UC RUSAL, LLC Matbea Cosmetics Rus, LLC Vilsen Tube Plant and Inkompro Group. The session was moderated by Elena Asanova, Head of the Direction for Coordination and Ensuring Interaction with the Market of the Aluminium Association.
Over 50%: The volume of aluminium packaging recycling in the world
Artem Asatur, Co-Chair of the Aluminium Association, having focused on the industry's most pressing problems, emphasised that in the current situation additional efforts were required to develop the aluminium packaging market. The Association participates in the establishment of the industry's position in terms of the regulation of production and consumption of aluminium packaging products in order to make the use of these recyclable materials more profitable. Also, the Association's experts are working on updating the GOST for aluminium cans so as to expand the use of this packaging type. Together with container producers, a campaign is underway to widely introduce separate waste collection systems. This practice complies with current global trends, including in the field of technology for production and disposal of composite packaging.
74%: Recycling rate for European aluminium cans in 2021
In her speech, Natalia Kudenkova, Head of the Consumer Goods Sector of the Aluminium Association, focused on the aluminium packaging's advantages in terms of sustainable development. The key factor here is the ability of aluminium to go through an infinite number of reprocessing cycles, which requires only 5% of the energy required for the primary metal production. In addition, the light weight of the material allows less energy to be consumed during transportation, regardless of whether the packing is full or empty. Finally, the use of aluminium packaging contributes to the food waste reduction. First, thanks to the exceptional water-repellent properties of aluminium foil, the walls of such containers remain as clean as possible after use. Secondly, the impermeability of aluminium packaging to UV radiation and oxygen can significantly increase the food's shelf life.
By over 600%: Hydropower's carbon footprint less than the coal fired
Natalia Kudenkova is sure: in current conditions, a high degree of environmental friendliness of aluminium is becoming an important factor in the development of the aluminium packaging market and stimulating the emergence of new products in this area. Thus, the scope of use of aluminium cans, which is the recycling champion, is constantly expanding. Bottling of drinking water, functional drinks and even wine into such containers (including in countries with rich winemaking traditions) has become a trend. The demand for aluminium is also growing in the market for personal care product packaging. According to forecasts, in the coming decade, this segment will become the most profitable.
There is a similar trend in the cosmetics packaging sector. Arsen Dolonts, CEO of LLC Matbea Cosmetics Rus, noted that in the current conditions, Russian cosmetics producers have received a new impetus for the development. At the same time, they have to make large stock up of raw materials and packaging, focus on practical innovations and look for new ways to deliver spare parts for their equipment.
Continuing the environmental topic, Danil Shadrikov, UC RUSAL's representative, recalled that the Company had started the production of the Allow aluminium as early as in 2017. Thanks to using a clean and renewable source of river energy from the Siberian HPPs, the carbon footprint of Allow does not exceed 2.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of aluminium produced, while the global average value for this parameter is about 12.5 tonnes. Today, UC RUSAL is the global leader in the production of low-carbon aluminium, while it is expected to reach the complete carbon neutrality in 2050.
Over 90%: The share of aluminium produced by RUSAL using hydropower
Ksenia Kalganova, marketing specialist of UC RUSAL, spoke about import substitution and denied the information regarding the shortage of aluminium foil in Russia due to economic sanctions. For almost 30 years, RUSAL has mastered the full production cycle of this product, and today four foil production facilities of the Company in Russia and Armenia make foil 5 to 240 μm thick, flexible foil-based packaging, aluminium strips and foil for household and industrial purposes.
About 100,000 tonnes: The amount of foil produced by RUSAL in 2021
At the end of the event, Alexander Prokudin, CEO of Inkompro Group, spoke about technical solutions for packaging aluminium tubes. The expert noted that today there is a shortage of available capacities for the production of aluminium tubes. He made an appeal to erect new capacities for the production of aluminium and laminated tubes.
You can find information about the business programme sessions of RosUpack, the 26th international exhibition of the packaging industry, on the website.