Novelis to double capacity at UK recycler

Novelis is more than doubling the capacity of used beverage cans (UBC) that can be recycled at its major plant in the UK.

The largest aluminium recycler in Britain is investing more than EUR 80 million to boost the recycling capacity of the Latchford facility in Warrington by 85 000 tonnes per year.

‘Of all the recycling players in the European market, Novelis has the highest ambition to maximise its recycled content across our product range,’ says Emilio Braghi, evp of Novelis Europe.

Milestone

‘Globally, Novelis had an average of 63% recycled content in our products in 2024. This investment marks a major milestone in our ambitious programme to further expand our recycling capacity.’

The work includes a new dross house, three new bag houses and the installation of shredding, sorting, de-coating and melting technologies. The enhancements will allow a larger volume of USBs and new types of aluminium scrap as well as increasing operational efficiency.

Deposit return

The project is expected to begin commissioning in December 2026. Once complete, the facility will be able to recycle all the beverage cans collected under a future UK deposit return scheme.

‘The investment in Latchford strengthens our position in the UK market as the largest recycler of aluminium,’ said Allan Sweeney, plant manager of Novelis Latchford.

‘Thanks to technological developments, we will be able to recycle all types of UBC scrap, fostering low-carbon and high-recycled content products that support not only our own ambitious sustainability goals, but those of our customers as well.”