Over the years, decades in fact, aluminum has become synonymous with the drinks industry. Whether it’s a frosty can of your favorite beer, or a fruity and refreshing soft drink, aluminum has been the packaging material of choice for beverages for as long as many of us can remember.
Whereas beverages were once heavy, clunky, and difficult to open, nowadays they’re durable, lightweight, convenient, and environmentally friendly. Why? Primarily because of aluminum packaging.
Aluminum is the material of choice for beverage manufacturers around the world, and there are plenty of reasons for why that is. Not only is aluminum incredibly sustainable and eco-friendly, it’s also economical and offers a number of preservative qualities at the same time.
As a drinks can material, aluminum began to grow in popularity during the 1950s. Since then, that momentum hasn’t stopped. In fact, as the need for sustainable packaging materials is now greater than ever, aluminum packaging is arguably more popular than ever.
But why do beverage companies prefer aluminum cans? Here’s a more detailed look.
Aluminum Cans are Convenient for Customers
When you think of packaging materials for beverages, there are typically 3 materials that first come to mind. These are plastic, glass, and aluminum.
Plastic bottles may be light weight, but they are not very durable or sturdy, plus they don’t keep drinks cool. They’re also extremely bad for the environment. The biggest concern is that they can leech hazardous materials such as microplastics into the beverages themselves. In fact, studies have shown that microplastics have actually been detected in non-alcoholic beverages.
As for glass, despite being far healthier and more eco-friendly, it is still very heavy and clunky, plus there’s always the risk of breakage.
Aluminum cans, however, are considered ideal for customers. They’re lightweight, easy to carry, easy to open, and conveniently shaped so they can save storage space and easily be packed into things such as lunchboxes, backpacks, coolers, and refrigerators.
Aluminum Cans Help to Preserve Drinks
Another reason why drinks manufacturers all over the world prefer to use aluminum cans for their beverages is due to aluminum’s preservative qualities.
Aluminum cans feature airtight designs that help to prevent bacteria, dirt, dust, germs, and other contaminants from getting inside.
On top of that, they also prevent sunlight, moisture, and oxygen from getting inside. This could affect the freshness, flavor, quality, and appearance of the liquid within. This is beneficial for both, drinks manufacturers, and consumers alike.
Aluminum Cans Help to Cool Drinks Quickly
Although aluminum isn’t renowned for its insulative properties, one thing it is great at is cooling drinks down quickly.
The vast majority of beverages sold in aluminum cans are best served chilled, which is why aluminum is so useful. Aluminum is thinner than glass and plastic and helps to transfer heat quicker too. This makes it ideal for chilling drinks rapidly.
Aluminum cans placed directly into a cooler or refrigerator can be chilled in as little as 15 minutes in some instances, making them perfect for those long summer days in the sun.
Aluminum Cans are Easier and Cheaper to Transport
Aluminum is much lighter in weight than plastic and glass, which can help to save money on transportation and shipping costs, which are typically calculated by weight. This essentially means that consumers and manufacturers will save money on shipping.
As well as being lighter and cheaper to transport, aluminum cans are also much easier and safer to transport as well. As beneficial as glass bottles are for beverages, one key drawback is that glass is prone to shatter, and the products could therefore be broken during transit. This often means that manufacturers are hit with double the expense, as not only do they lose stock, but they may also have to reimburse the customer or send a replacement.
With aluminum cans, aluminum does not break, crack, or shatter, and is much more durable than glass. This means that drinks stored in aluminum cans are far less likely to be damaged during transit.
Aluminum Cans are 100% Recyclable and Sustainable
Finally, another reason why aluminum is the packaging material of choice for drinks manufacturers is the fact that it’s so sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Aluminum cans can be recycled indefinitely, plus they’re 100% recyclable. In the case of plastic packaging, it can only be recycled a certain number of times. In fact, most plastic materials can only be recycled once or twice. With aluminum drinks cans, the entire can, lid-pull and all, can be recycled over and over again.
Another tick in the sustainability box for aluminum drinks cans is the fact that recycling them requires far less energy than recycling plastic, which means lower emissions. Should they find their way to landfill, they also pose far fewer dangers to the environment than plastic, and even glass for that matter.
