The hard realities

Mike MacKay, co-owner and managing director of Despray Environmental and executive director of the Global Aerosol Recycling Association, explains the need for industry-wide change in aerosol recycling.

The aerosol industry produces over 16 billion cans annually, yet less than ten per cent are recycled, missing a critical opportunity to recover propellants, liquids, and metals for a circular economy. Even leading regions struggle to achieve 20 per cent recycling rates, underscoring a pressing environmental challenge.

I, alongside my Despray partner and CEO, Eelco Osse, have dedicated 37 years to solving this aerosol recycling bottleneck with cutting-edge technology and a bold vision for global change. The problem: safety and systemic barriers regarding “end of life” aerosol cans, which pose unique risks in material recovery facilities (MRFs) and recycling centres. Loaded with flammable propellants and hazardous liquids, they’re almost always seen as potential fire or explosion hazards rather than recyclable resources.

UK waste reports from 2021, among others, link aerosols to multiple MRF fires, explaining why waste handling management and workers alike divert billions of cans to landfills or incinerators globally. This isn’t apathy – it’s self-preservation, compounded by a lack of safe recycling tools and inconsistent regulations. For example, one US state classifies aerosols as recyclable, while another labels them hazardous, leaving recycling programmes to improvise without any standardised guidance.

The solution lies in using proven advanced technology to eliminate these barriers. These systems come safety-certified by Llyods and are fully automated technology that process almost all aerosol types. The current technology also captures the gases, collects the liquid for waste into energy and produces clean metals for metal recycling.

Five global patents, including one converting contaminated propellants to EU-compliant end-of-waste fuel, back both our commitment and our approach to making a true difference versus programmes that lack the content or direction to make significant real-life changes to the aerosol’s environmental footprint.

Despray’s latest innovation, a soon-to-bepatented system, achieves 100 per cent volatile organic compound (VOC) capture for maximum recycling efficiency. Additionally, its AI-powered sorting technology distinguishes aerosols from other cans and sorts of specific types-cosmetics, paints, lubricants, and more – making it compact and adaptable for any MRF or recycling centre. Importantly and not to be overlooked is Despray’s decades of data collected.

The system of aerosol recycling needs big changes, not just white papers. Detailed studies at multiple sites and countries over many years show consistent data supporting the fact that end-of-life aerosols retain an average 25 per cent fill rate after consumer and business use. This is a figure backed also by a decade of video evidence and log data.

These results highlight the untapped potential for recovery, slashing emissions and supporting a circular economy. The cost of safe and effective recycling isn’t cheap, but the environmental and safety toll of inaction is far costlier.

Landfilling billions of cans wastes resources and exacerbates climate impacts, while inconsistent recycling policies hinder progress. Most kerbside programmes reject aerosols over safety concerns, and global recycling reports often sidestep hard statistics on infrastructure needs. Kerbside programmes need a major rethink.

On the bright side, models like Germany’s 70 per cent plus collection rate prove what is possible with concerted effort. With blinders off and minds open to change, a 50 per cent global recycling rate by 2030 is achievable with the right tools and commitment and support.

I started the Global Aerosol Recycling Association (GARA) with the global mission to drive this transformation. I can’t do it alone. GARA will have real life offerings that will make changes that are desperately needed. This is not just my statement but my retirement mission and hopefully legacy, to turn aerosols from earth-polluting landfill waste into circular economy assets.

The goal is to be a one-stop hub uniting recyclers, fillers, supply chains, and industrial partners to share strategies, set benchmarks, and promote safe, efficient recycling. GARA has already self-funded a PHD thesis on aluminium aerosol recycling, targeting efficiencies by addressing plastic components in metal bricks. Aluminium’s significant environmental footprint makes these innovations critical for emission reductions. These results will be available shortly.

Here is GARA’s call to action: the technology exists, the math checks out, and the urgency is undeniable. Hesitation and lack of action are now the biggest barriers, not safety. We need the aerosol industry to step up, align sustainability pledges with actionable recycling initiatives, and support standardised global programmes.

No action is a choice. Let’s make a potentially huge difference together. For more information and to join GARA’s mission, visit thegara.org.