UK steel recycling rates have been ranked 21st out of 29 European countries in new figures that show an overall increase in recycling across the continent.

Apeal - the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging - said that steel recycling was leading the way in Europe after figures for 2008 showed that 70% of European steel packaging was recycled in 2008.

The figure compares to 69% overall in 2007 and equates to 2.5m tonnes of food and drinks cans, as well as other steel containers and a reduction in potential CO2 emissions of 3.9m tonnes.

However, the UK's rate of 62% for steel puts it in 21st place out of the EU-27 countries, plus Norway and Switzerland, despite the improvements in recycling in recent years.

In October, figures from the National Packaging Waste Database showed that steel packaging recycling in the UK had doubled since the beginning of 2009.

Apeal emphasised steel's performance by comparing it with research data from other packaging bodies. PlasticsEurope research showed that 29% of plastic packaging was recycled, while the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment said 33% of beverage cartons were recycled.

The figure for glass was 62% in 2007, according to the European Glass Packaging Federation's data.

Apeal's president Guillaume de Formanoir said: "Once again, steel is setting the standard for recycling across Europe and demonstrating that by recycling, we can make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions."

Belgium leads the field
In geographical terms, Belgium demonstrated the most impressive performance – 93% of its steel packaging is recycled. It was followed closely by Germany (89%) and the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

However, the report revealed that the UK only recycles 62% of its steel packaging, behind Slovakia (63%) and France (68%).

Of the countries surveyed, Poland and Slovenia fared the worst, having both recycled just 21% of their steel packaging.

Apeal attributed the overall performance to steel's "unique material properties", and listed a number of qualities that made it more recyclable than other materials.

They included its magnetic properties, which make it easier to sort and recover, and the fact that it loses no strength when it is recycled.