The most frequent questions

Although we are daily confronted with beverage cans, we know little about them. Here we have answered the most frequent questions.

1. When was the first beverage can made?

The beverage cans were launched on the market in the USA in 1934. In Germany Schmalbach-Lubeca (now Ball Packaging Europe) presented the first beverage can in 1937: the bottle-shaped can was made in four parts and had a crown cork closure.



The bottle can was abandoned because of the complicated production process involved. Instead Schmalbach-Lubeca launched the first beverage can for beer in 1951  – a three-piece welded can made of black steel. A little later tinplate was first used to produce beer cans. Nowadays the body and the base of the beverage can are produced as a single piece in an energy and material-saving process. Just the end is seam-welded on after filling.

2. What exactly is tinplate?

Tinplate is steel plate. It is refined with an extremely thin layer of tin to protect it against corrosion. On average, just over 2 g tin per sqm area and surface are sufficient.

3. Why do beverage cans made of steel have an aluminium end?

An end made of steel would not have the same properties as an end made of aluminium. The main difficulty is the hardening of the material around the score line which facilitates the opening of the can. As steel is stronger than aluminium, it would be more difficult to open the can.

4. Doesn't the aluminium end on the tinplate can cause a problem in the recycling process?

No. The aluminium beverage can end does not negatively affect the recycling process. The aluminium oxidises whilst the steel melts and subsequently passes into the accumulating slag which is used in the construction industry. This process releases energy which in turn is used to melt down more slag.

5. Is it possible to make new beverage cans from post-consumer beverage cans?

Yes. It is possible to produce new cans from both tinplate and aluminium beverage cans.

6. How much does a beverage can weigh?

The first can launched in 1951 weighed 83 g (0.35 l). Since then, continuous research work has meant that the weight of the rounded metal container has become lower and lower. The 330 ml can made of tinplate still weighed 48 g in 1973 but by 2003 this had been reduced to 21.4 g. The 500 ml tinplate can dropped from 45 g in 1983 to 27.8 g in 2003. Today an aluminium beverage can weighs just 10.6 grammes (330 ml) and 13.8 grammes (500 ml).

7. Are beverages packaged more safely in cans than in glass bottles?

The beverage can is the only container which is light-proof and oxygen-tight. Light and oxygen prejudice the quality of the beverages.  Carbonated beverages must also be protected against the loss of CO_². With the beverage can, neither oxygen nor light can penetrate from the outside and carbon dioxide cannot escape from inside.  In addition, the beverage is protected by the hermetically sealed end. The beverage quality is therefore retained for a long time in beverage cans.

8. Do cans burst?

In principle yes – but that hardly ever happens in practice because the Ball Packaging Europe beverage can is able to withstand internal pressure of  6.2 bar. This pressure is far beyond the level occuring under normal circumstances.  As a comparison: At a depth of 10 meters below water level, the human body would have to withstand a pressure of approx. 1 bar. A car tyre is "filled" to a pressure of 2 bar. In case  internal pressure of 6.2 bar were ever to occur, the beverage can has been provided with a type of safety valve: The base of the can bulges outwards giving the pressure extra space.  So-called "peaks" occur and the internal pressure in the can decreases.   Should the can burst despite this, then it bursts in one place and not all over as a glass container does.

9. Is it possible for cans to talk?

Yes  – if they are fitted with the appropriate technical refinements. The light which penetrates the can when it is opened activates a module which emits an individual sound message. The light-activated sound module was developed by Riverside Technologies, a marketing company, and integrated in the can end by Ball Packaging Europe. Breweries and soft drinks producers have already used the talking can for promotional campaigns.  A voice informs the consumer that he/she has won a prize and how to obtain it.