Aluminium cans and foil: carbon footprint per tonne (primary production)
Live factor value
9,113.58 kgCO2e per tonne (primary production)
Source: UK DESNZ greenhouse-gas conversion factors, 2026 (revision 2). Factor set desnz-2026-r2.
Primary aluminium is among the most emission-intensive common materials — the official DESNZ 2026 figure for cans and foil, live below, reflects the enormous electricity demand of smelting alumina. Per tonne it is roughly six times new glass and orders of magnitude above construction basics like concrete.
Aluminium is also recycling's best advert: remelting scrap needs only around 5% of smelting's energy, and the official closed-loop factor is roughly a ninth of the primary one. An aluminium can is infinitely remeltable — the footprint problem is only ever the first tonne, which is why can recycling rates matter more than almost any other packaging stream.
Worked example
50 kg of drinks cans (~3,300 cans): 0.05 × 9,113.58 = 456 kgCO2e.
Measure your own with the free event calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does recycling aluminium save?
- About 90%: the DESNZ closed-loop factor for aluminium cans and foil is roughly one ninth of the primary-production figure, because remelting avoids the smelter's electricity demand.