PACKAGING made from steel is always recyclable and is easier to transport, store and manipulate than other kinds of packaging materials. So said David J. Rintoul, president of U.S. Steel Košice at a conference called Steel Packaging – Green Solutions for Central Europe held in Košice in late September. He added that the production, use and recycling of steel packaging offers great potential for the whole Košice region in business as well as for protection of the environment.
The aim of the event was to highlight the usefulness of steel packaging from the viewpoint of sustainability and environmental protection.
This was the first conference of its type in central Europe and representatives of steel producers and customers as well as state and regional governments from 13 EU countries took part, Ján Bača, spokesman of U.S. Steel Košice, told The Slovak Spectator.
Philip Buisseret, managing director of APEAL, the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging, said that “steel recycling makes an important contribution to savings in natural raw materials and reduces the dependence of European producers on foreign raw materials”.
The conference message ‘No can to landfill’ was meant not only for the general public but also for state officials who can prepare the legal and organisational bases for increasing the percentage of steel packaging that is recycled, said the company spokesman.
The conference was co-organised by APEAL and U. S. Steel Košice. The companies belonging to APEAL currently employ more than 200,000 people in Europe and produce 95 percent of European steel. Steel is used primarily for making beverage cans and food tins but can also be used as recyclable packaging for the grocery, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.
