Stainless steel kegs are quite the hot commodity for bars and restaurants, being completely reusable along with a 30+ year lifespan. Being such an important part of the industry, it was the brains behind how the new Steel Keg Association was created. They are a marketing-focused non-profit organization, on a mission to help increase the volume of beer and other beverages served from stainless steel kegs. 

“Most people have never thought of kegs as the ultimate reusable containers … when you choose draft from steel kegs, you’re making the most sustainable choice by removing single-use packages from recycling and landfill streams,” said Dan Vorlage, executive director of the newly formed association and Microstar Logistics VP of Global Marketing. “Take beer enjoyed in bars and restaurants in the U.S. as an example. Kegs presently remove about half of all single-use beer containers from the bar/restaurant waste stream each year, that’s approximately 6 billion containers … converting the other half to draft removes a combined 12+ billion single-use containers. That’s a goal worth raising a pint to, and we’re encouraging others to join in.”

The Steel Keg Association’s marketing programs are supported by a new ISO-14064 framework Life Cycle Analysis from Deloitte. “Steel kegs are truly one of the best examples of reusability and circularity, with decades of reuse potential. In the U.S., compared to single use containers, steel kegs save over 400,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases [GHGs] and keep roughly 500,000 tons of packaging out of landfills each year,” said Kyle Tanger, managing director in Deloitte’s U.S. sustainability practice.

The Steel Keg Association’s efforts will be focused on the U.S. beer market initially, expanding to the U.K. and Western Europe later in 2022. The association’s founding members represent a diverse collection of leaders in the global steel keg supply chain: BLEFA GmbH, Hillebrand Gori, Micro Matic, MicroStar Logistics, Schaefer Container Systems, and Thielmann.