Oct. 6, 2009 - Coke has shaved 5% off the weight of its beverage cans, in a move the company says could save 15,000 tons of aluminum each year.

The secret? Using thinner sheets of metal. The metal in the new cans is less than a tenth of a millimeter thick - about the width of a human hair - yet offers the same durability as the material previously in use, Coke says.

A staggering 6.5 billion of the new lightweight cans have already hit store shelves throughout the European Union.

"Smarter packaging can deliver not only tangible cost savings to the supply chain, but also environmental benefits that help Europe tackle the joint challenges of climate change and resource efficiency," says Richard Swannell director of retail, for the U.K.'s Waste and Recycling Action Program (WRAP). The can's new specifications will have knock-on effects for distributors and retailers throughout the EU, according to WRAP.

Coke says it’s changing its approach to product packaging, looking at the materials as a valuable resource to be conserved and reused whenever possible. In the U.S., the company has expanded its zero-waste recycling goal to include all of the aluminum cans and plastic bottles sold in the U.S., and has pledged $60 million to build new recycling plants.