The Circle of the Tin Can
25 November 2008
Tin manufacturers, Tinplate, share the history and life of tin can
The traditional food tin was one of the world’s first steel tinplate products. Sealed tinned containers were first manufactured in the early nineteenth century to store and preserve food. Although almost 100 years would pass before bacteria’s role in food spoilage would be understood, the new ‘canned food’ soon became widely used, the military and navy being particularly interested in preserved food. To take one example of the preservative quality of tinplate containers, a can of roast veal from an 1824 expedition to the North Pole was opened in 1939 and the contents were deemed not only edible but nourishing.
Though cans were originally slow to make and hard to open, advances in the industry have made the product common across the globe. Modern tinplate consists of a thin sheet of steel covered (using electroplating) with tin to preserve the metal from environmental degradation. As a form of food preservation or a durable and decorative container, tinplate is still one of the most attractive and long-lasting materials on the market today.
The life of a tinplate product begins at one of the thousands of iron ore mines around the world. Although pure iron is very rare, iron oxide from alloys can be processed for industrial use as steel. The strong and flexible steel is then rolled and processed into thin sheets with a thickness range of 0.16mm-0.50mm. The range of possibilities to differentiate the finished product includes embossing, litho or screen printing and forming into a huge variety of shapes and sizes. Also because of the high speed of tinplate packaging production, it is very cost-effective.
When they reach the market as cans, tea and biscuit tins, CD cases, pub signs, trays and cosmetic containers, the products are valued both as a way to strengthen brands and for their impression of quality and durability. Customers often keep well-designed containers and reuse them, and marketing managers know that this is a way to keep a logo and brand on display for much longer than with disposable packaging. The next step in the tinplate cycle is recycling. For over a century, tin and steel packaging has been recycled. It is cheaper to recycle steel than to mine iron ore and take it through the production process. Recycling helps to reduce the environmental impact of mining, as well as creating a product that can be labeled as 100% recycled.
Environmentally conscious consumers will be pleased to discover that not only are tinplate containers reusable, they are endlessly recyclable - unlike plastic, glass and paper which degrade each time they are recycled. As modern businesses are increasingly concerned with energy efficiency and environmental impact, an additional benefit to them is a reduced Carbon Footprint, and a saving of approximately 75% on energy consumption.
Because of the recyclability of tinplate products, the end of the life-cycle becomes the new beginning. A substantial amount of worldwide steel production is made from recycled steel scrap, and the amount of mining is reduced along with the waste associated with it (www.apeal.org/emc.asp).
Other Press Releases By This Company
- 10/11/2008 - Tinplate Packaging go to Hollywood
- 07/11/2008 - Branded Tin Packaging: The Gift that Keeps Giving
