# Aluminium pays EUR 5 to EUR 480 a tonne across nine euro EPR tables, and thin foil, laminates and deposit cans cost several times more > In 2026 the standard household aluminium line runs from EUR 5.14 per tonne at Repak to EUR 480 at ARA, with Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy and Belgium all at or below EUR 49.10, but Belgium charges 9.2 times more for foil under 50 micron and 90 times more for aluminium laminates, and in the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria and Ireland drinks cans leave the fee base for per-can deposit fees worth EUR 436 to EUR 962 per tonne. Publisher: Strategic Packaging Insights Published: 2026-10-27 Last updated: 2026-10-27 Page: https://www.strategicpackaginginsights.com/insights/aluminium-packaging-epr-fees-euro-markets/ **In 2026 the standard household aluminium line runs from EUR 5.14 per tonne at Repak to EUR 480 at ARA, with Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy and Belgium all at or below EUR 49.10, but Belgium charges 9.2 times more for foil under 50 micron and 90 times more for aluminium laminates, and in the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria and Ireland drinks cans leave the fee base for per-can deposit fees worth EUR 436 to EUR 962 per tonne.** Strategic Packaging Insights (SPI) read the 2026 aluminium lines, and the 2027 lines where published, in the tariffs of Fost Plus, Valorlux, Verpact, Citeo, CONAI, Ecoembes, Sociedade Ponto Verde, ARA and Repak. Because every scheme bills in euro, the lines can be compared directly, but each sits on its own fee base, and a 20-tonne mix of cans, trays and foil lids shows how far that base moves the bill. ## Executive summary Aluminium is usually the line packaging teams stop worrying about. In six of the nine euro schemes SPI read, the 2026 household aluminium rate is EUR 49.10 per tonne or less, and in Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg it is EUR 5.14 to EUR 15.10. The reason is the scrap: CIAL, Italy's aluminium consortium, forecasts EUR 10.69 million from selling recovered aluminium in 2026 against EUR 6.26 million from the CONAI fee, so the metal pays for more of its own collection than the fee does (CIAL Piano Specifico 2026). That picture breaks in three places. The first is format. Fost Plus charges EUR 451.30 per tonne for aluminium under 50 micron against EUR 49.10 for thicker aluminium, EUR 3,552.50 for aluminium coffee capsules and EUR 4,419 for laminates where plastic outweighs the aluminium; CONAI charges capsules EUR 120 against a EUR 12 base from 1 October 2026. Foil lids, wraps and laminated pouches therefore cost several times what a can costs. The second is the scheme. Austria (EUR 480), the Netherlands (EUR 340) and France (EUR 243.40) price aluminium close to or above their steel lines, and France raised aluminium 30.5% for 2026. Verpact says fewer cans in its aluminium stream leave a smaller, lower-quality flow that costs more to handle. The third is the deposit. In the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria and Ireland, drinks cans have left the EPR fee base and pay a per-can fee. At an SPI-assumed 13 g can that is EUR 436 to EUR 962 per tonne in 2026, against EUR 5.14 to EUR 480 for the aluminium the EPR schemes still cover. Belgium keeps cans in Fost Plus but adds a litter levy of EUR 1,259.40 per tonne on metal beverage cans, 25.6 times the Green Dot rate. On a 20-tonne mix of 12 tonnes of cans, 5 tonnes of trays and 3 tonnes of foil lids, the EPR bill runs from EUR 41.12 in Ireland to EUR 4,868 in France before any can-level charge (Exhibit 11, SPI calculation). Leaders should split aluminium by gauge, construction and deposit status in every market, budget per-can fees as their own line, and treat aluminium components on plastic packs as a malus risk, not a free closure. ## Key findings 1. The 2026 standard household aluminium line is EUR 5.14 per tonne at Repak (brand holder share), EUR 12 at CONAI, EUR 15.10 at Valorlux, EUR 39.90 at SPV, EUR 40 at Ecoembes, EUR 49.10 at Fost Plus, EUR 243.40 at Citeo, EUR 340 at Verpact and EUR 480 at ARA (household), a 93-fold spread inside one currency (scheme tariffs, consulted 27 October 2026). 2. Fost Plus prices aluminium by gauge: EUR 49.10 per tonne at 50 micron or more and EUR 451.30 below, 9.2 times; on its 2027 table the gap widens to 12.2 times, EUR 39.90 against EUR 486.20 (Fost Plus rates page). 3. Published 2027 aluminium lines move in both directions within each scheme: Verpact +11.8% to EUR 380, Valorlux +7.3% to EUR 16.20, Fost Plus thin aluminium +7.7% and thick aluminium -18.7%, with Ecoembes (EUR 40) and ARA (EUR 480) unchanged. 4. Drinks cans sit in deposit systems in the Netherlands (since 1 April 2023), Ireland (Re-turn, February 2024), Austria (Recycling Pfand Österreich, 2025) and Portugal (Volta, launched 10 April 2026), where producers pay EUR 0.010, EUR 0.0125, EUR 0.0107 and EUR 0.00567 per can respectively in 2026 or the latest published year. 5. **SPI calculation:** at 13 g per can, those unit fees equal EUR 769, EUR 962, EUR 823 and EUR 436 per tonne, 1.7 to 187 times the same country's EPR aluminium line. 6. Ecoembes does not eco-modulate metals at all in its 2026 model, while Citeo applies a 100% malus to rigid PET packaging associated with aluminium, including caps and lids (Ecoembes guide 2026; Citeo guide 2026). 7. **SPI analysis:** for a 20-tonne mix of cans, trays and foil lids, the foil lids are 15% of the weight but 61.9% of the Belgian EPR bill, because they fall under the thin-gauge line. ## Nine tables, one metal Every scheme here prices aluminium as its own line, but the line does not mean the same thing in each table. Exhibit 2 sets out every aluminium line SPI read, with its unit as published, its year and any 2027 value. Read down the 2026 column and the range is EUR 4 to EUR 4,419 per tonne inside one currency. The low end is not one scheme: Portugal's non-urban flow (EUR 4.00), Ireland's brand holder share (EUR 5.14) and Italy's base (EUR 12) are all below EUR 15. The high end is Belgium alone, because Fost Plus is the only one of the nine with separate household lines for thin aluminium and aluminium laminates, as well as for aluminium capsules. The fee bases differ in ways that matter more for aluminium than for most materials. Repak's EUR 5.14 is the brand holder or importer share; the sheet adds EUR 1.00 each for manufacturers and converters and EUR 2.00 for retailers, so the full chain pays EUR 9.14 per tonne (Repak 2026 fees sheet). CONAI's fee is charged per tonne at the first transfer of the packaging, so it arrives on a converter's invoice. ARA's household line is 5.3 times its commercial line (EUR 480 against EUR 90). SPV's urban base is ten times its non-urban base, and its bonificado value of EUR 35.90 applies when a pack meets every 2026 eco-modulation criterion for the material (SPV Tabela VPV 2026). SPI analysis No scheme here prices aluminium cans, trays and foil differently because of what they are. Where the price differs, it is because of gauge (Belgium, Luxembourg), aluminium share (Belgium, Luxembourg), a named item (capsules in Belgium and Italy), or the stream the pack ends up in (household or commercial in Austria, urban or non-urban in Portugal, deposit or not in four markets). ## How the year moved From 2025 to 2026 the aluminium line moved more than any other metal line in several schemes. Citeo raised aluminium 30.5%, from 18.65 to 24.34 euro cent per kg, while its steel line rose from 5.35 to 6.49 cent (Citeo tariffs 2025 and 2026). Repak raised recycled aluminium 39.7%, from EUR 3.68 to EUR 5.14 per tonne for the brand holder, and Verpact 13.3%, from EUR 0.30 to EUR 0.34 per kg. Valorlux moved 4.1%, to EUR 0.0151. Two schemes cut or held. Ecoembes cut its aluminium drinks can line from EUR 0.060 to EUR 0.040 per kg, 33.3%, as part of a wider 2026 reduction for drinks packaging (Ecoembes Precios 2025 and 2026, as matched in SPI's fee data). ARA held EUR 0.480 for 2025, 2026 and 2027, and CONAI has kept aluminium at EUR 12 per tonne since 1 April 2024 (CIAL Piano Specifico 2026). The 2027 tables published so far split. Verpact raises aluminium 11.8% to EUR 0.380 per kg and its page links the rise partly to growth in aluminium packaging such as coffee capsules that must be sorted and processed (Verpact Tarieven). Fost Plus cuts thick aluminium 18.7% to EUR 0.0399 but raises thin aluminium 7.7% to EUR 0.4862 and cuts aluminium capsules 13.0% to EUR 3.0910. Citeo, CONAI, SPV and Repak 2027 aluminium values are not confirmed by SPI. ## Why aluminium is usually cheap, and when it is not Producer responsibility fees mostly fund the gap between what it costs to collect and sort a material and what the sorted material sells for. Fost Plus says it calculates rates on the real cost deficit for each recycled material, comparing actual costs and revenue with the volumes placed on the market, and it names aluminium, with clear PET bottles, as a material with a fully developed recycling and sales market (Fost Plus, Packaging EPR rates, what, why and how). Italy shows the arithmetic in public. CIAL's plan for 2026 forecasts EUR 19.92 million of revenue, of which EUR 10.69 million comes from selling recovered aluminium and EUR 6.26 million from the CONAI environmental contribution (Exhibit 3). Sales are 1.7 times the fee, and the plan says the fee covers about half of the costs it is meant to fund in 2026, against 45% in 2025. The same plan ties the value of sorted aluminium packaging to scrap prices on the London Metal Exchange in US dollars per tonne and to the euro and dollar exchange rate (CIAL Piano Specifico 2026). So an aluminium fee that looks low reflects a commodity price that can fall. CIAL's forecast sales for 2026 are almost flat, at EUR 10.69 million against EUR 10.64 million in its 2025 pre-closing figures. There are four cases where aluminium stops being cheap, and each one shows up in a tariff. **When the aluminium is thin or mixed.** Foil, lids and laminates are hard to recover. CIAL notes that aluminium packaging runs from the walls of aerosols, cans and trays down to foil of a few micron, and it promotes recovery of the small-size fraction at treatment plants. Fost Plus charges 9.2 times more below 50 micron, and when plastic weighs more than the aluminium, the pack leaves the aluminium table for code 014-03 at EUR 4,419 per tonne. **When the item is a known problem.** Belgium and Italy now price aluminium beverage capsules as a separate item: EUR 3.5525 per kg at Fost Plus from 12 August 2026 and EUR 120 per tonne at CONAI from 1 October 2026, made up of the EUR 12 base and a EUR 108 extra fee (CONAI EPR fee table). CIAL's plan adds that coffee capsules sent for recycling do not count towards Italy's aluminium recycling figure. **When the stream shrinks.** Verpact explained its 2026 rise by the fall in cans in its aluminium stream once they moved into the Dutch deposit, which leaves a smaller, lower-quality and more expensive flow (Verpact, 22 September 2025). Austria's EUR 480 household line, above its EUR 450 ferrous metal line, applies to a stream from which deposit cans have also left, since Recycling Pfand Österreich now charges them per can, at a 2026 rate unchanged from 2025 (ARA 2026; Recycling Pfand Österreich Infoblatt 2026). **When aluminium sits on another material.** Citeo's 2026 guide puts a 100% malus on rigid PET packaging associated with aluminium, PVC or silicone denser than 1, and includes aluminium caps, lids, labels and sleeves; Ecoembes adds a 10% penalty to several plastic fractions with metal accessories unless they are removed. A foil lid on a PET tray can therefore cost far more in the tray's fee than in its own. Exhibit 4 shows how each scheme sets aluminium against steel, the other metal every table prices. SPI analysis France is the outlier. Citeo charges aluminium 3.75 times steel and raised it 30.5% for 2026, so a French brand cannot treat aluminium as the cheap metal. At the other end, SPI's [EPR fees per tonne piece](https://www.strategicpackaginginsights.com/insights/epr-fees-per-tonne-2026/) found aluminium the cheapest of the main materials in Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Ireland, and three of those four price it at under a third of steel. ## Where cans leave the fee base The largest single difference between the nine schemes is not a rate. It is whether a drinks can is in the EPR table at all. Exhibit 5 sets out where cans sit in October 2026. The Dutch rule is in Verpact's own table: the aluminium and other metals tariffs no longer apply to deposit cans from 1 April, before which cans were reported as ordinary packaging, and the ILT confirms that cans have carried a deposit since 1 April 2023 (Verpact Tarieven; ILT). In Ireland, PET bottles and aluminium or steel cans between 150 ml and 3 litres are in the scheme, with deposits of EUR 0.15 up to 500 ml and EUR 0.25 above (Re-turn producer page). In Portugal, Volta covers plastic and metal drinks containers up to three litres with a 10 cent deposit, launched on 10 April 2026 (Government of Portugal, 13 April 2026), and the SDR fee is set by list, green, yellow or red, according to recyclability criteria approved by APA and DGE (SDR Portugal VPF SDR 2026). Belgium is the open case. The Brussels Times reported on 24 August 2026 that Belgium had taken no decision on a deposit, that Fost Plus estimates only 65% of metal drink containers are correctly sorted, and that the PPWR's 90% collection test for single-use plastic bottles and metal cans applies by 1 January 2029, with a possible waiver for a country at 80% in 2026 with a credible plan. SPI has not yet confirmed any Belgian government decision. Exhibit 6 converts the per-can fees to a per-tonne figure, so they can be set against the same country's EPR line. SPI analysis In a deposit market the aluminium can stops being a weight-priced item. The per-can fee does not fall when the can is lighter; it rises per tonne, because a tonne of lighter cans holds more of them. Re-turn says its producer fees take into account both recycling costs and the market value of the materials, which is why its fee for cans differs from PET, but the per-can basis still turns lightweighting into a fee cost, not a saving (Re-turn 2025 Annual Report). The [deposit return piece](https://www.strategicpackaginginsights.com/insights/deposit-return-europe-uk/) covers the systems in full. ## The modulation levers, scheme by scheme Eco-modulation for aluminium is thin. None of the nine tables SPI read publishes a percentage bonus or malus aimed at an aluminium pack itself, and Ecoembes states that its first model could not be applied to metals. What exists is built into lines, thresholds and the rules for other materials (Exhibit 7). Fost Plus's definitions are the most precise. Line 004 covers packaging elements of at least 50% aluminium with a thickness of 50 micron or more, line 013 covers aluminium thinner than 50 micron, and both exclude beverage capsules disposed of with the product. Weight percentages exclude inks, adhesives and glues (Fost Plus Green Dot rates 2026). The same document defines aluminium laminates as a layer of aluminium between two layers of plastic, and metallised films as plastic with a thin vapour-deposited aluminium layer, both of which fall into plastic categories. Citeo's aerosol example is a weight-reduction bonus, not an aerosol tariff: the guide shows a metal aerosol cut from 36 g to 27 g earning a 25% bonus (Citeo guide 2026). In practice aerosols are priced on the aluminium or steel line in every scheme SPI read, and SPI has not confirmed a separate household aerosol line in any of them. Fost Plus's pharmaceutical per-unit table does carry an aluminium spray row at EUR 0.0256 per consumer unit. In practice: Verpact. Verpact announced its 2026 rates on 22 September 2025. It raised aluminium from EUR 0.30 to EUR 0.34 per kg because cans left its stream, and raised the producer contribution for deposit cans from 0.2 cent in 2025 to 1.0 cent in 2026 after can returns rose 83% in eighteen months (Verpact, 22 September 2025). For 2027 its table lists aluminium at EUR 0.380 and the can contribution at EUR 0.019 per deposit container (Verpact Tarieven). Both lines that touch an aluminium can rise in the same year. ## One market in depth: Belgium Belgium is the market where the shape of an aluminium pack matters most, so Exhibit 8 sets out every Fost Plus line an aluminium pack can fall into. The 2027 table widens the gauge gap. Thick aluminium falls to EUR 39.90 per tonne while thin aluminium rises to EUR 486.20, so the ratio goes from 9.2 to 12.2 times. Steel moves the other way from aluminium, up 77.6%, so a Belgian food brand choosing between a steel and an aluminium can sees the gap between them grow from 3.8 to 8.3 times in a single year. The litter levy changes the can sum. The three regions introduced it in 2026 on litter-prone single-use packaging placed on the market that year, and Fost Plus collects it, with a first advance invoice in October 2026 for half the estimated 2026 contribution and a second at the start of 2027 (Fost Plus EPR Litter). A tonne of beverage cans pays EUR 49.10 to Fost Plus and EUR 1,259.40 in levy, so the levy is 96% of the can's Belgian producer cost. SPI analysis In Belgium the decisions that move an aluminium bill are gauge and construction, not tonnage. A foil lid at 40 micron pays 9.2 times a tray at 60 micron, and an aluminium-plastic laminate where plastic is the heavier part pays 90 times. The [Benelux piece](https://www.strategicpackaginginsights.com/insights/benelux-packaging-fees-fost-plus-valorlux/) compares the full Fost Plus and Valorlux tables. ## Three kinds of aluminium market Two questions sort the nine markets: are drinks cans inside the EPR table, and does the table price aluminium by format or as one line? Exhibit 9 shows the result. The fourth box, format pricing with cans in a deposit, is empty among these nine. **Archetype A, format markets.** Belgium and Luxembourg share the 50% and 50 micron rule, and Italy prices capsules apart. The cheap line is available only to packs that meet the threshold, so thin foil and laminates are where the money is. In Luxembourg the PV05 line covers aluminium of at least 50% and 50 micron, and SPI has not yet confirmed whether thinner aluminium falls to PV14, other recoverable, at EUR 1.3973 per kg, or PV15, other non-recoverable, at EUR 1.4830 (Valorlux 2026). **Archetype B, flat markets.** Citeo and Ecoembes each charge one rate for cans, trays and foil. In France that rate is high, so weight reduction pays directly; in Spain it is low and not eco-modulated, so aluminium's fee matters mainly when it sits on a plastic pack and triggers a penalty there. **Archetype C, deposit markets.** Once cans leave, the EPR line covers trays, foil, aerosols, food cans and closures. The can's cost becomes a count of units at a published per-can fee, with Portugal's lists adding a recyclability step of up to 30.2% from green to red for aluminium. ## Worked example: 20 tonnes of aluminium in nine schemes To show what the rules do to one portfolio, SPI priced a fixed mix of household aluminium packaging in each scheme (Exhibit 10). The mix is an SPI assumption for comparison, not a market average. **Belgium (Fost Plus).** 12 x 49.1 + 5 x 49.1 + 3 x 451.3 = EUR 2,188.60. The foil lids are 15% of the tonnage and 61.9% of the bill. The litter levy on the cans, 12,000 kg x EUR 1.2594 = EUR 15,112.80, is 6.9 times the whole Green Dot bill. On the 2027 table the Green Dot part is EUR 2,136.90, 2.4% lower, because thick aluminium falls more than thin aluminium rises. **Luxembourg (Valorlux).** 17 x 15.1 = EUR 256.70 for the cans and trays. The lids depend on a line SPI has not yet confirmed: EUR 4,191.90 at PV14 or EUR 4,449 at PV15, so the total is EUR 4,448.60 to EUR 4,705.70. If Valorlux places thin aluminium in either line, the lids are 94% or more of a Luxembourg bill, which would make a Luxembourg foil lid dearer than a Belgian one. **Netherlands (Verpact).** 8 x 340 = EUR 2,720 on trays and lids. The cans pay 923,077 x EUR 0.010 = EUR 9,230.77 in 2026 and EUR 17,538.46 at the 2027 contribution of EUR 0.019, while the EPR part rises to EUR 3,040 on the 2027 aluminium rate. **France (Citeo).** 20 x 243.4 = EUR 4,868, the highest EPR total of the nine, because every can, tray and lid pays the same EUR 243.40. Citeo's per-unit and malus elements sit outside this figure; a lid that seals a rigid PET pack would add its malus to the PET pack's fee, not this one. **Italy (CONAI).** 20 x 12 = EUR 240, charged by the converter at the first transfer. Only capsules, pods and sachets for drinks pay the EUR 120 modulated fee, so none of this mix does. **Spain (Ecoembes).** 20 x 40 = EUR 800, and the same on the 2027 page. SPI has not yet confirmed a start date for a Spanish deposit in any official act, so the cans stay in the table. **Portugal (SPV).** 8 x 39.9 = EUR 319.20, or EUR 287.20 at the bonificado value. The cans pay SDR Portugal 923,077 x EUR 0.00567 = EUR 5,233.85 on the green list, or EUR 6,812.31 on the red list. **Austria (ARA).** 8 x 480 = EUR 3,840 as household packaging, against EUR 720 if the trays and lids were commercial at EUR 90. The cans pay Recycling Pfand Österreich 923,077 x EUR 0.0107 = EUR 9,876.92, plus surcharges for poor recyclability where they apply. **Ireland (Repak).** 8 x 5.14 = EUR 41.12 for the brand holder, or EUR 73.12 across the whole chain at EUR 9.14. SPI has assumed the trays and lids qualify as recycled aluminium; Repak's sheet does not define the term. The cans pay Re-turn 923,077 x EUR 0.0125 = EUR 11,538.46 at its 2025 fee. SPI analysis The ranking of the nine EPR totals is not the ranking of what a brand pays for this mix. Belgium is mid-table on Green Dot fees but highest once the litter levy is added, at EUR 17,301.40; Ireland is lowest on EPR but EUR 11,579.58 in all; France and Spain, with no can-level charge, end at EUR 4,868 and EUR 800. All are euro, so they can be set side by side, but they are not the same charge: deposit fees fund a return network that EPR fees do not. ## Scenarios: gauge, can weight and 2027 Two assumptions in the mix carry most of the uncertainty: how thick the trays and lids are, and how much each can weighs. Exhibit 12 moves each one, in euro, inside each scheme. **SPI calculation:** in Belgium the high case is 834.70 for cans and trays plus 3 x 4,419 = EUR 13,257 for laminated lids, 6.4 times the base. Moving lids up to 50 micron saves EUR 1,206.60, 55.1% of the base bill, before any change in the material weight needed. For deposit fees, moving from a 13 g to an 11 g can adds 18.2% to every bill, because 167,832 more cans make up the same 12 tonnes. The 2027 step is uneven across markets. Of the nine, five have published 2027 aluminium values: Verpact up 11.8%, Valorlux up 7.3%, Fost Plus thick down 18.7% and thin up 7.7%, and Ecoembes and ARA flat. The Dutch can contribution rises 90% to EUR 0.019, so on this mix the Dutch total goes from EUR 11,950.77 in 2026 to EUR 20,578.46 in 2027, up 72.2%, almost all of it from the cans. In practice: CIAL. CIAL's 2026 plan forecasts a 64.5% aluminium recycling rate, against a 2025 pre-closing figure of 64.0%, and EUR 18.43 million of costs against EUR 19.92 million of revenue (CIAL Piano Specifico 2026). It is monitoring coffee capsules in the material it manages and runs projects to recover small aluminium from the fine fraction at treatment plants. The fee has stayed at EUR 12 per tonne since 1 April 2024 while the plan expects it to cover about half of the costs it funds. In practice: Re-turn. Re-turn charged producers EUR 0.0125 per aluminium or steel can and EUR 0.02 per PET bottle in 2025, reported an overall return rate of 76.4% of in-scope containers, and recorded EUR 64.4 million of income from producer fees and material sales together, with EUR 60.1 million of net unredeemed deposit income (Re-turn 2025 Annual Report). Its producer page says collected material belongs to the scheme and that producers get the first option to buy it at commodity rates. ## Industry reaction > "Door de afname van blikjes in de aluminiumstroom blijft er een kleinere, kwalitatief mindere en daardoor dure materiaalstroom over. Dit leidt tot hogere kosten voor aluminium." In English: because fewer cans are in the aluminium stream, a smaller, lower-quality and therefore expensive material stream remains. This leads to higher costs for aluminium. ***Verpact** , Dutch producer responsibility organisation, [announcement of the 2026 waste management and deposit tariffs](https://www.verpact.nl/nl/actueel/nieuws-verpact-maakt-afvalbeheer-en-statiegeldtarieven-2026-bekend), 22 September 2025* The Dutch case is the clearest statement in this set that a deposit raises the EPR price of the aluminium that stays behind. > "Por ello, en el caso de los metales no ha sido viable aplicar este primer modelo de ecomodulación desarrollado con base en los atributos técnicos definidos." In English: for this reason, in the case of metals it has not been viable to apply this first eco-modulation model developed on the basis of the defined technical attributes. ***Ecoembes** , Spanish producer responsibility organisation, [Guía de ecomodulación 2026](https://ecoembesempresas.com/app/uploads/2025/06/guia-ecomodulacion-2026.pdf), 2025* The guide explains that most metal packaging would have qualified for a bonus or been neutral, which would have left nothing to fund the bonuses. > "Il valore degli imballaggi in alluminio selezionati, provenienti dalla raccolta differenziata, dipende dall’andamento del valore dei rottami di alluminio ed è connesso alle quotazioni di mercato espresse dal London Metal Exchange in dollari/tonnellata, nonché alla fluttuazione del cambio Euro/Dollaro." > > > > **CIAL** , Italian aluminium packaging consortium, [Piano Specifico di Prevenzione e Gestione 2026](https://www.cial.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CIAL_Piano-SP-2026_DLgs-152-art223-comma5.pdf), 24 September 2025 > > > > "They take into account the costs associated with recycling along with the market value of the materials, resulting in different fees for PET and aluminium/steel." In English: the value of sorted aluminium packaging from separate collection depends on the trend in aluminium scrap value and is linked to London Metal Exchange market prices in dollars per tonne, as well as to the euro and dollar exchange rate. ***Re-turn** , Ireland's deposit return scheme operator, [2025 Annual Report](https://media.re-turn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025-Annual-Report.pdf), 2026* ## The gaps in this view **Luxembourg's thin aluminium.** Valorlux's PV05 needs 50% aluminium and 50 micron. SPI has not yet confirmed the line for thinner or composite aluminium, so the worked example shows a range. **France, Italy, Portugal and Ireland in 2027.** Citeo's 2027 tariff is not yet published, CONAI's page carries no 2027 aluminium value, and SPI has not yet confirmed SPV's or Repak's 2027 aluminium rates. Repak publishes a 2027 Regular Membership Rates sheet (QF 628) whose rates SPI has not yet read. **Charges outside the table.** Citeo's per-unit and malus elements, the Belgian litter levy beyond cans, small-producer flat fees and minimums, and deposit handling and registration fees are not priced here. The Spanish deposit has no confirmed start date in an official act. Plastic taxes do not apply to aluminium, but they do apply to the plastic part of an aluminium laminate where a country taxes it; the [flexible packaging piece](https://www.strategicpackaginginsights.com/insights/flexible-packaging-recyclability-gap/) covers laminates. ## What leaders should do now 1. **Packaging engineers, by 31 December 2026:** measure the gauge and aluminium share of every tray, lid and wrap sold in Belgium and Luxembourg, because the 50 micron and 50% thresholds decide whether a pack pays EUR 49 or EUR 451 per tonne in Belgium. 2. **Finance teams, in the 2027 budget round:** split aluminium into three lines in every market: EPR weight fee, deposit fee per can, and charges outside the table such as the Belgian litter levy, and load the 2027 Fost Plus, Valorlux and Verpact values now. 3. **Brand owners selling drinks in the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria and Ireland, now:** budget cans by unit count, not tonnage, and test whether a lighter can raises the per-can bill per tonne; aim for SDR Portugal's green list, which is 23% cheaper than red. 4. **Designers of plastic packs for France and Spain, before 2027 briefs are frozen:** remove or make separable any aluminium lid, cap or label on rigid PET and other plastics, since Citeo applies a 100% malus and Ecoembes a 10% penalty. 5. **Coffee and tea brands, by the 2026 declarations:** declare aluminium capsules on their own lines in Belgium and Italy, where they pay 72 times and 10 times the standard aluminium rate. 6. **Compliance teams in Austria and Portugal, now:** check the household or commercial and urban or non-urban classification of each aluminium item, since each moves the line 5.3 or 10 times. 7. **Procurement, by 31 January 2027:** ask converters in Italy to show the CONAI aluminium fee and any capsule fee as separate invoice lines, because the fee is charged at the first transfer. ## Questions for your board - What do we pay for aluminium in each market, split into EPR weight fees, deposit fees and other levies? - How much of our aluminium tonnage is under 50 micron or below 50% aluminium, and what does that cost in Belgium? - Have we costed the 2027 Dutch can contribution of EUR 0.019 and Verpact's EUR 0.380 aluminium rate together? - Which plastic packs carry aluminium lids, caps or labels that trigger a French or Spanish malus? - If Belgium misses the 80% test and introduces a deposit, how would our Belgian can costs change? - Who owns the gauge, composition and deposit status data that each scheme now needs? ## What to watch - **Nov 2026:** Fost Plus's first litter levy advance invoice, sent in October, sets the cash cost of the levy on Belgian cans for 2026. - **31 Dec 2026:** the 2026 collection year closes, the year a PPWR waiver test for Belgium would rest on. - **1 Jan 2027:** 2027 aluminium lines apply at Fost Plus, Valorlux, Verpact, Ecoembes and ARA, and the Dutch can contribution rises to EUR 0.019. - **Early 2027:** Citeo's 2027 tariff, CONAI's 2027 values and Repak's 2027 aluminium rate, none of which SPI has yet confirmed. - **1 Jan 2029:** the PPWR requires 90% separate collection of single-use plastic bottles and metal cans up to 3 litres. ## Methodology - **Data used:** the 2026 tariffs of Fost Plus, Valorlux, Verpact, Citeo, CONAI, Ecoembes, SPV, ARA and Repak; their 2025 and 2027 tables where published; deposit producer fees from Verpact, SDR Portugal, Recycling Pfand Österreich and Re-turn; CIAL's 2026 plan; SPI fee-market data for the same schemes, rechecked against each source on 27 October 2026. - **Counting rules:** rates as published, excluding VAT, before bonus, malus and per-unit charges; per-kg rates x1,000; Citeo cent per kg x10. All figures are in euro, so totals are compared, but each fee base is named. - **Mix and scenarios:** the 20-tonne mix, the 13 g can and the gauge assignments are SPI assumptions. Deposit fees per tonne divide the per-can fee by the assumed weight. - **Cut-off:** 27 October 2026. - **Limitations:** lines do not map one to one; Luxembourg's thin aluminium line and several 2027 values are not confirmed; deposit fees fund different services from EPR fees. This is not an invoice or a legal view; confirm categories with each scheme and check with counsel where it applies. ## Sources 1. Fost Plus, Packaging EPR rates (2026 and 2027 table), [https://www.fostplus.be/en/members/green-dot-rates](https://www.fostplus.be/en/members/green-dot-rates), consulted 2026-10-27. 2. Fost Plus, Green Dot rates 2026 per material (EUR/kg), [https://www.fostplus.be/en/media/1930/download](https://www.fostplus.be/en/media/1930/download), consulted 2026-10-27. 3. Fost Plus, Packaging EPR rates, what, why and how, [https://www.fostplus.be/en/media/2252/download](https://www.fostplus.be/en/media/2252/download), consulted 2026-10-27. 4. Fost Plus, EPR Litter, [https://www.fostplus.be/en/members/epr-litter](https://www.fostplus.be/en/members/epr-litter), consulted 2026-10-27. 5. Valorlux, Grüner Punkt Tarife 2026, detaillierte Meldung (GV Oktober 2025), [https://www.valorlux.lu/media/68e634367e399_gruener-punkt-tarife-2026-detailliert.pdf](https://www.valorlux.lu/media/68e634367e399_gruener-punkt-tarife-2026-detailliert.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 6. Valorlux, Les tarifs Point Vert 2027, déclaration détaillée (AG octobre 2026), [https://www.valorlux.lu/media/0d2fbf1a-de20-4f9a-9529-ca82c37ebcac/tarifs-point-vert-2027-detaille1.pdf](https://www.valorlux.lu/media/0d2fbf1a-de20-4f9a-9529-ca82c37ebcac/tarifs-point-vert-2027-detaille1.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 7. Verpact, Tarieven (2025, 2026 and 2027), [https://www.verpact.nl/nl/tarieven](https://www.verpact.nl/nl/tarieven), consulted 2026-10-27. 8. Verpact, Verpact maakt afvalbeheer- en statiegeldtarieven 2026 bekend, 22 September 2025, [https://www.verpact.nl/nl/actueel/nieuws-verpact-maakt-afvalbeheer-en-statiegeldtarieven-2026-bekend](https://www.verpact.nl/nl/actueel/nieuws-verpact-maakt-afvalbeheer-en-statiegeldtarieven-2026-bekend), consulted 2026-10-27. 9. ILT, Statiegeld op plastic flesjes en blikjes, [https://www.ilent.nl/onderwerpen/statiegeld-op-plastic-flesjes-en-blikjes](https://www.ilent.nl/onderwerpen/statiegeld-op-plastic-flesjes-en-blikjes), consulted 2026-10-27. 10. Citeo, Guide du tarif des emballages ménagers 2026 (updated 22 June 2026), [https://clients-cms.citeo.com/uploads/guide_du_tarif_des_emballages_menagers_2026_f9e4c5b4e6.pdf](https://clients-cms.citeo.com/uploads/guide_du_tarif_des_emballages_menagers_2026_f9e4c5b4e6.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 11. Citeo, Le tarif d'écoconception 2025, emballages ménagers (update of 19 December 2024), [https://bo.citeo.com/sites/default/files/2025-04/20241219_MAJ_Tarif_EM_2025-FR.pdf](https://bo.citeo.com/sites/default/files/2025-04/20241219_MAJ_Tarif_EM_2025-FR.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 12. CONAI, EPR Fee (Contributo Ambientale CONAI), value table 2026, [https://www.conai.org/en/companies/services-for-managing-consortium-obligations-and-business-opportunities/epr-fee/](https://www.conai.org/en/companies/services-for-managing-consortium-obligations-and-business-opportunities/epr-fee/), consulted 2026-10-27. 13. CIAL, Piano Specifico di Prevenzione e Gestione 2026 (24 September 2025), [https://www.cial.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CIAL_Piano-SP-2026_DLgs-152-art223-comma5.pdf](https://www.cial.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CIAL_Piano-SP-2026_DLgs-152-art223-comma5.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 14. Ecoembes, Precios 2026, envases domésticos y comerciales, [https://ecoembesempresas.com/app/uploads/2025/06/Ecoembes_Precios2026.pdf](https://ecoembesempresas.com/app/uploads/2025/06/Ecoembes_Precios2026.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 15. Ecoembes, Precios (fee page with the 2027 table), [https://ecoembesempresas.com/precios](https://ecoembesempresas.com/precios), consulted 2026-10-27. 16. Ecoembes, Guía de ecomodulación 2026, [https://ecoembesempresas.com/app/uploads/2025/06/guia-ecomodulacion-2026.pdf](https://ecoembesempresas.com/app/uploads/2025/06/guia-ecomodulacion-2026.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 17. Sociedade Ponto Verde, Tabela de Valores Ponto Verde (VPV) 2026, June 2026 upload, [https://www.pontoverde.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Tabela-VPV-2026.pdf](https://www.pontoverde.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Tabela-VPV-2026.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 18. Government of Portugal, Volta, sistema de depósito e reembolso de embalagens entra em vigor, 13 April 2026, [https://portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc25/comunicacao/noticias/volta-sistema-de-deposito-e-reembolso-de-embalagens-entra-em-vigor](https://portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc25/comunicacao/noticias/volta-sistema-de-deposito-e-reembolso-de-embalagens-entra-em-vigor), consulted 2026-10-27. 19. SDR Portugal, Valores de prestação financeira 2026 (VPF SDR 2026), [https://sdrportugal.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SDR-Portugal_VPF2026.pdf](https://sdrportugal.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SDR-Portugal_VPF2026.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 20. ARA, List of Tariff Rates 2026 (version 29 September 2025), [https://ara.at/uploads/Dokumente/Tarifbl%C3%A4tter/ARA-tariff-rates-2026.pdf](https://ara.at/uploads/Dokumente/Tarifbl%C3%A4tter/ARA-tariff-rates-2026.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 21. ARA, List of Tariff Rates 2027 (version 28 September 2026), [https://ara.at/uploads/Dokumente/Tarifbl%C3%A4tter/ARA-tariff-rates-2027.pdf](https://ara.at/uploads/Dokumente/Tarifbl%C3%A4tter/ARA-tariff-rates-2027.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 22. Recycling Pfand Österreich, Infoblatt Produzentenbeitrag 2026 (December 2025), [https://www.recycling-pfand.at/downloads/ewp-infoblatt-produzentenbeitrag-2026.pdf](https://www.recycling-pfand.at/downloads/ewp-infoblatt-produzentenbeitrag-2026.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 23. Repak, Regular Member 2026 fees sheet, [https://repak.ie/images/uploads/downloads/Repak_Regular_Member_2026_Fees_Sheet.pdf](https://repak.ie/images/uploads/downloads/Repak_Regular_Member_2026_Fees_Sheet.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27; Regular fees 2025, [https://repak.ie/images/uploads/downloads/Repak_Regular_Fees_2025.pdf](https://repak.ie/images/uploads/downloads/Repak_Regular_Fees_2025.pdf), consulted 2026-10-27. 24. Re-turn, 2025 Annual Report, [https://media.re-turn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025-Annual-Report.pdf](https://media.re-turn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025-Annual-Report.pdf), and Producer obligations, [https://re-turn.ie/producer](https://re-turn.ie/producer), consulted 2026-10-27. 25. The Brussels Times, New EU packaging rules: Will Belgium introduce deposit on cans?, 24 August 2026, [https://www.brusselstimes.com/2281826/new-eu-packaging-rules-will-belgium-introduce-deposit-on-bottles-and-cans](https://www.brusselstimes.com/2281826/new-eu-packaging-rules-will-belgium-introduce-deposit-on-bottles-and-cans), consulted 2026-10-27.