Earlier this month (August), Alupro announced the appointment of Stephen Devine as membership & business development manager. We sat down with Stephen a few weeks into his new role to understand his immediate priorities and hear his future vision for the UK’s aluminium packaging value chain.

Q – Congratulations on the new role, Stephen. Can you explain a little more about what you’ll be doing as the latest member of the Alupro team?

A – As Alupro’s new membership & business development manager, my primary role is to work closely with our existing members and sponsors, building strong working relationships and delivering upon our goal of fulfilling the industry’s obligation to meet (and exceed) recycling targets for aluminium packaging. However, with the ambition of growing our membership base, I’m also responsible for reaching out to the wider aluminium value chain and bringing new members on board.

Ultimately, our goal is to champion aluminium and maximise the circular packaging economy. As such, we’re committed to collaborating with and representing as many aluminium businesses as we can.

Q – What was your role prior to joining Alupro?

A – Having taken on a position within the Wastecare collection sales team in 2022, I quickly moved into the producer compliance team, where I later became commercial manager across the packaging, WEEE and battery compliance schemes. Here, I worked with numerous businesses across the UK to help them meet their regulatory obligations, while subsequently building an encyclopedia knowledge of EPR.

While I’ve been working in packaging, recycling and waste management for a number of years now, in a previous life I was a secondary school maths teacher. This ultimately wasn’t the right career choice for me, but the skillset I developed proves useful to this day when it comes to educating businesses about policy and recycling matters.

Q – Why did you make the jump to Alupro?

A – Simply put, Alupro has a national reputation for leading the aluminium circularity conversation. The UK is in a challenging, but exciting, regulatory period, so I thought now would be the perfect time to join a business that is helping to really shape the future.

The role allows me to combine my commercial experience and policy knowledge with my passion for the circular economy. It’s a really exciting role to be taking at a pivotal time for the industry.

Q – What are your immediate priorities?

A – My initial focus will be on member outreach. Connecting with our membership base, understanding their needs and the challenges they face. This is really important, as it helps us to further refine our activities and priorities to deliver maximum impact.

Elsewhere, I’ll be working on developing a dedicated members area on the Alupro website to provide resources and further opportunities for engagement. Finally, I’ll be building a new strategy to welcome new members and sponsors. All in all, a busy few months ahead!

Q – What do you hope to achieve in the long-term?

A – I’m aiming to build Alupro’s network and strengthen our relationships. By doing so, the ambition is to increase the adoption of aluminium packaging and maximise its recycling rate – in essence, driving progress towards a more circular packaging economy.

While challenges remain, the UK can be a shining example of best practice when it comes to the production, use and recycling of packaging. Aluminium is a critical material to achieve this and I’m looking forward to playing a role in further accelerating its profile. 

Q – With significant legislative change ahead, how can being a member of Alupro help aluminium packaging businesses?

A – Navigating the complexities of legislation can often be challenging, especially for smaller firms who may not have dedicated policy resources. Being a member of Alupro gives businesses access to expert guidance and support from our talented team, as well as a collaborative network of peers and in-depth industry intelligence.  

Together, Alupro is the voice of the industry, supporting the aluminium packaging value chain by influencing policy decisions and providing clarity for member organisations.

Echoing Stephen’s comments, the coming years will absolutely be an exciting yet challenging time for the UK packaging sector. We wish Stephen all the best in his new role and look forward to seeing the outcomes of his work in due course.

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A campaign to recycle more aerosols has been supported by Trafford Council.

The Council has partnered with the UK Aerosol Recycling Initiative, a nationwide programme led by Alupro, to launch a new initiative aimed at increasing the number of aerosols recycled through household collections.

The trial is designed to understand how aerosols are being disposed of at homes across Trafford and how clearer guidance and better communication can improve recycling habits.

As part of the trial, waste collected from Trafford households will be analysed by SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ) at its Longley Lane Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) to assess how many aerosols are captured through kerbside recycling and residual collections. These insights will help build a clearer picture of how residents are engaging with recycling.

Later in the project, households will be offered practical advice on how to recycle aerosols correctly and safely. By comparing data collected before and after the campaign, the team will measure the impact of improved guidance and create best practice solutions for encouraging positive recycling behaviours.

Trafford is one of three local authorities taking part in these trials aiming to improve national aerosol recycling rates and decrease the volume of valuable materials that end up in landfill. Trafford Council is committed to sustainability and has made addressing the climate crisis a corporate priority.

Tom Giddings, Executive Director at Alupro, said: “Many people are unsure whether aerosols can be recycled. This trial gives us the chance to understand how people are currently disposing of aerosols and how we can make recycling clearer and easier.”

Tom Merry, Commercialisation & Innovations Manager at SUEZ added: “With upcoming changes to national recycling regulations, including Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and the introduction of a national Deposit Return Scheme, it’s more important than ever that we capture all forms of recyclable metal packaging. By working with Trafford Council and Alupro, we can gain real insight into recycling behaviour and explore ways to improve collections.”

Councillor Stephen Adshead, Executive Member for Highways, Environmental and Traded Services at Trafford Council, concluded: “We’re really pleased to be part of this initiative to improve aerosol recycling. By working with Alupro and Suez, we’re aiming to better understand current recycling habits and give residents the clear, practical advice they need.

“I believe small changes in behaviour can make a big difference, and this trial is a great step towards reducing waste and increasing recycling across Trafford.”

Upon completion of the trial, Trafford Council will continue to work with Alupro and SUEZ to explore practical ways for improving aerosol recycling locally and share their learnings to support national progress.

For more information about Alupro, visit www.alupro.org.uk.

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Notes to Editors

About UK Aerosol Recycling Initiative (UKARI)

Spearheaded by Alupro, the UK Aerosol Recycling Initiative brings together partners from across the value chain, including Ball Aerosol Packaging, Trivium Packaging, the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA), Ecosurety, Henkel, the LINDAL Group, CleanEco, Tandom Metallurgical Group Ltd and Tata Steel UK.

More information can be found at: https://alupro.org.uk/industry/programmes/the-uk-aerosol-recycling-initiative

About SUEZ: SUEZ is a leading provider of waste and water management services in the UK, dedicated to building a sustainable future by delivering essential environmental solutions for local authorities, industrial, and commercial customers. Through innovation and a commitment to the circular economy, SUEZ helps protect natural resources and enhance biodiversity.

At this year’s LARAC Wales Conference (8 July), Alupro will launch a commitment to support Welsh councils in meeting their Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (EPR) targets. The event, which takes place at the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff, brings together senior representatives to discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the waste and recycling sector.

With a raft of legislative change set to impact local authorities over the coming months, Alupro is offering to guide councils through the changes needed to not only take advantage of the impending opportunity, but also to achieve stretch targets set out as part of national zero waste by 2050 ambitions.

Through its national network and thriving membership base, Alupro will provide insight and expertise to ensure Welsh councils are effectively equipped to deliver upon expectations. In addition, through its latest communications initiatives, it will offer the engagement, education and behavioural change potential to deliver measurable impact.

Throughout the LARAC Wales conference, the Alupro team will be on hand to discuss its EPR commitment, as well as to share recent examples of its MetalMatters and Every Can Counts campaigns.

Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, said: “While businesses in Wales have been collecting and reporting packaging data since mid-2023 to support EPR roll-out, the scheme’s financial obligations are only going into effect this year. Whilst EPR represents welcome funding to support local authorities’ efforts to recycle even more packaging, it still remains unclear what the expectations will be for councils to attain 100% of the possible funding available.

“Councils have quickly adapted to new systems and processes to cover the costs of recycling infrastructure, but are facing stringent targets amid new ways of working. This, alongside the requirement to accelerate national progress towards zero waste by 2050, is putting local authorities under significant pressure.

“Our ambition is to work with councils across Wales to help them reach – and exceed – targets. Effective public engagement and communication is essential in getting everyone to participate in the coming changes with confidence, which is why we were so pleased to see those parties responsible for funding EPR prioritise it in their bids to become the Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO). In particular, their emphasis on using existing good-practice campaigns, with demonstrable returns on investment, is welcome news.

“We hope offering our full support to local authorities will prove valuable in accelerating national momentum and showing the PRO how important programmes such as MetalMatters are in delivering ‘efficient and effective’ recycling services.”

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Without effective communication to drive positive behavioural change, we could miss the once in a generation opportunity to make the UK a true champion of recycling. Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, explains how this can work in practice and shares the latest results from the MetalMatters initiative.

Despite shrinking central funding, rising operational costs, increasing demand for public services and widespread staffing pressures, local authorities are coming under growing pressure to improve their environmental performance.

While advancements in processing and collection infrastructure must be considered, it’s safe to say that prevention is better than cure. Indeed, for every waste stream successfully segregated at the kerbside, that’s one less thing to think about at the sorting stage.

To drive behavioural change, improve capture rates and drive a measurable uplift in domestic recycling, communication is key.

Inspiring change through education

MetalMatters is Alupro’s dedicated community engagement initiative, specifically designed to boost metal packaging recycling rates at the kerbside. Launched in 2012, the programme uses the transformational nature of metal recycling to educate and inspire the general public, improving understanding, securing widespread buy-in and fostering positive behavioural change.

Funded by the metal packaging and recycling industry, MetalMatters can be rolled out in close collaboration with local authorities across exacting geographies. It employs a range of communication tools, both traditional and digital, tailored to suit a specific demographic or region.

From leaflet drops and impactful outdoor advertising campaigns to vehicle signage, radio broadcasts and even targeted paid social media outreach, MetalMatters adopts a multi-pronged approach to maximise impact.

Over the course of more than a decade, MetalMatters has helped to drive a national uplift in metal packaging collection and recycling rates. To date, 126 local authorities and waste partnerships across the UK have collaborated with MetalMatters to roll out the initiative within their local community, successfully reaching more than eight million households in total as a result.

Changing behaviours through consumer engagement

With the ambition of improving resident engagement, boosting capture rates and minimising contamination, a number of local authorities have recently adopted the MetalMatters initiative and are already seeing impressive results – Leicestershire Council, Powys Council, Cherwell District Council and Somerset Council.

Powys Council – As part of a long-term commitment to further improving environmental performance, Powys was already a leading local authority champion when it launched a digital version of the MetalMatters programme in June 2024, as part of a campaign that also promoted the initiative across the local press.

Against a backdrop of declining total kerbside recycling, the campaign inspired an uplift in metal packaging collection volumes  (17% for steel and 6% for aluminium). In addition, the council reported a significant decrease in material contamination.

Cherwell District Council – Supporting a comprehensive social media programme, Cherwell’s MetalMatters campaign (September 2024) comprised two leaflet drops to 8,000 households across the region, as well as bespoke livery on waste collection vehicles and promotional stickers on public recycling bins. In the three months following the campaign, ferrous metal collection volumes leapt 14%, with non-ferrous close behind (11.7%).

Leicestershire Council – Launched in January 2025, Leicestershire’s MetalMatters campaign used solely digital engagement tactics to reach thousands of households across the county. The campaign encouraged residents to dispose of their metal packaging correctly and helped to raise awareness of the value in recycling.

In the three months since the programme concluded, collection data has demonstrated an increase of 8.7% in ferrous metals and 16.6% increase in non-ferrous metals, despite a dip in overall collection volumes (-8%).

Somerset Council – Having launched just a few months ago (February 2025), initial results from Somerset’s MetalMatters campaign have already demonstrated a measurable impact. Thanks to an integrated programme of engagement tactics, including advertising on local busses and broadcasting the campaign on local radio, data reports an 8.2% uplift in non-ferrous metals and 5.6% ferrous.

The importance of consumer engagement campaigns

By delivering targeted educational materials and clear recycling guidelines, the MetalMatters initiative fosters a greater understanding of the environmental and economic benefits of recycling metal packaging. It underscores the effectiveness of well-crafted, informative campaigns in driving behavioural change and promoting environmental stability.

MetalMatters is seeking partners for its 2026 campaign schedule. With Extended Producer Responsibility putting higher packaging recycling rates firmly back into focus, now is the perfect time to deploy MetalMatters in your area. To find out more, visit www.metalmatters.org.uk. For more information about Alupro, visit www.alupro.org.uk.

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According to annual data published on the National Packaging Waste Database by the Environment Agency,* the UK recycled an impressive 157,049 tonnes of aluminium packaging in 2024.

Despite a fast-growing domestic market, capture rates more than kept up with pace. Indeed, 114,462 tonnes were recycled through kerbside, bring and on-the-go systems, while 41,635 tonnes were recovered from incinerator bottom ash (IBA). Elsewhere, 952 tonnes were recycled through other sources.

With an obligation of 151,281 tonnes and a carry-in of 2,811 tonnes, a surplus of PRNs for 8,579 tonnes saw the UK once again surpass the obligation target.

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, said: “I’m delighted to report another excellent year for aluminium packaging recycling. While the recycling rate for beverage cans maintained an impressive 81%, the number of PRNs issued for all aluminium packaging was also one of the highest ever recorded.

“For the past 20 years, we’ve been investing heavily in optimising our collection and recycling infrastructure. A consistently high recycling rate demonstrates that we’re reaping the rewards of this long-term commitment.

“As we move further forward into 2025, robust policy is key to delivering continued progress. Accelerating the roll-out of a national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and formalising Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation is key to inspiring record-breaking rates in the future. Comprehensive reform of the PRN system must also be seen as a critical part of this drive.

“By doing so, we can further improve best practice waste management behaviours and drive a continued uplift in capture and recycling rates.”

For more information about Alupro, or its MetalMatters and Every Can Counts behavioural change programmes, visit www.alupro.org.uk. To access the latest aluminium packaging recycling data, visit the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD).

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*Data sourced from the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD).