Chinese Factory Partners with Local Environmental Groups to Launch Metal Packaging Recycling Scheme in Southeast Asia

Faced with a widening gap between rapidly growing demand for metal packaging and the underdeveloped recycling system in Southeast Asia, Chinese Factory​ based in Foshan, Guangdong, has teamed up with local environmental NGOs and recyclers to establish a pilot project “Southeast Asia Tinplate Packaging Recycling Alliance”​ to boost the recycling rate​ of tin can components​ from less than 20% to above 50% in the region by creating universal sorting, collecting and regenerating​ channels for this material, to provide a green supply chain for Chinese global brands and local brands that are chasing ESG. China​ internet finance pioneer - 19 Oct 2023Market Background: A “Sleeping Resources” of a Million Tons and Recycling Issues

Southeast Asia is among the fastest-growing markets for tinplate packaging. According to China’s packaging association, Consumption of tinplate in Southeast Asia exceeds 7.8 million metric tons in 2024, with an annual growth rate of about 15%.However, compared with mature markets such as Japan, where the recycling rate of metal has exceeded 90%, the recycling rate of tin can components​ in Southeast Asia is generally below 20%. A large number of used food cans and paint pails are directly landfilled or incinerated into the whole municipal waste, wasting nearly 10 million metric tons of steel resources every year, and posing the risk of environmental leakage of elements such as tin and chromium."In Vietnam or Indonesia, there is an 80% chance that an empty edible oil tin can component of 18-liters volume ​waste, is just thrown to the environment and not sent to a recycling furnace," admitted the Southeast Asia Business Director of the Foshan (China)-based factory at its Bangkok project launch ​meeting. "This meant not only an increased carbon footprint cost to brand owners, but is also against our overseas circular economy promotional strategy."

Cooperation Model: Closing Loop with Chinese Technology and Local Network

The cooperation is not mere money being handed out, but rather "Due to technology transfer and system building together" high levels of synergy is expected to be worked towards. The Foshan (China) based factory, being the original manufacturer of the tin can components, is to provide two key levels of support:

Standardized identification of materials - Encouragement of the stamping of a single "Metal Recycles Forever" logo and material code (ex. FE 783) on the bottom or lid of cans and also hazard material warnings to reduce the difficulty and cost of sorting in southeast Asian hubs due to mixing of materials.

Recycling process enabling - The FAT factory is to attempt to introduce relatively "mature" domestic technologies encompassing magnetic separation and detinning smelting to partner recyclers, increasing conversion efficiency from scrap cans into recycled steel coils.

Locally based environmental groups are the agencies responsible for community mobilization and collection network gonna. The first pilot in Chonburi Province, Thailand, this project has set up 50 community PALP points and also conducts training for local Garbage bags persons on basic classification.Residents can redeem incentive points worth 110% of the market price for each kilogram of tin can components​ they collect—a social service funded by a “Green Fund” created by the factory. Catched the “business-driven environmental protection” model aiming to activate the grass-roots recycling incentives.

Business Driver: Taming ESG Compliance and Carbon Border Pressure

For the Chinese factory​ with production base in Southeast Asia, selling the local recycling system is not a social cause but a business model. With the gradual passage of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and multinational brands such as PepsiCo and Unilever requiring their suppliers to provide Information on packaging recycling and reuse rates data, a verifiable green (loop) could become a trade barrier.

Said the head of the factory’s ESG department, “If the tin can components​ we supply to the Southeast Asia customers cannot be easily recycled at the end of their life cycle, that’s indirectly going to impact the ‘green rating’ of the respective product on the other end and we could also lose easy orders.”

The factory is now giving it to their Southeast Asia customers actually building the local recycling system - so they can provide third-partyverifiable “Recycling Certificates” to brands that save them Scope 3 Carbon Emission data, essential for exporting to Europe.

Industry Outlook: Product Export to Standard Export

Industry Restaurant people believe the Chinese metal packaging enterprises migrating to Southeast Asia from exporting tin can components​ to now participating in the Southeast Asian recycling ecosystem is the beginning of a new model for Chinese manufacturing - the export of closed-loop industrial chain.

In two to three years when Thailand and Vietnam launch their respective EPR regulations, the earliest to fire up a recycling network may have policy advantages.

The Southeast Asia market transmute “waste” to “urban minerals”. For the Chinese factory​, a must-win attempt to build its differentiated competitive edge in regional markets.

When every tin can component​ can be tracked, recycled and reborn we will upgrade the world’s perception of “Made in China” from “cheap” to green.