Sustainable progress: Novelis invests $90 million to expand its UBC recycling facility in UK

Novelis Inc., a premier provider of sustainable aluminium solutions and the global leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, announced an investment of approximately $90 million to expand its recycling capacity for used beverage cans (UBCs) at the Latchford plant. The investment encompasses the construction of a new dross house, three new bag houses, and the installation of cutting-edge shredding, sorting, de-coating, and melting technologies.

"Of all the recycling players in the European market, Novelis has the highest ambition to maximize its recycled content across our product range. Globally, Novelis had an average of 63% recycled content in our products in fiscal year 2024," said Emilio Braghi, executive vice president of Novelis and president of Novelis Europe.

About the project

This project will boost the facility's UBC recycling capacity by 85 kilotonnes annually, more than doubling its current capacity. The project is slated to begin commissioning in December 2026.Upon completion, the facility will be capable of recycling 100 per cent of UBCs collected under the forthcoming UK deposit return scheme. This will establish a local, fully circular system, eliminating the need to export scrap from the UK.

"The investment in Latchford strengthens our position in the UK market as the largest recycler of aluminum. 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," stated Allan Sweeney, plant manager of Novelis Latchford.

These enhancements will allow the plant to recycle a greater volume of aluminium scrap, including new types, and improve operational efficiency. This expansion and the adoption of advanced technologies are projected to reduce annual CO2e emissions by over 350,000 tonnes for Novelis Europe.

“This investment marks a major milestone in our ambitious program to further expand our recycling capacity. It underscores our strong commitment to sustainability as we continue to drive the transformation of the aluminium industry towards full circularity and lead the market with innovative, high-recycled and low-carbon aluminium solutions,” added Emilio Braghi.