As part of an continued drive to increase aluminium recycling rates within the UK, Alupro has launched a new consumer engagement campaign, #FoilFriday. Running between July and December, the programme will see householders targeted with a series of digital media assets in a bid to increase aluminium foil recycling and reduce contamination.

Run in partnership with local authorities, the initiative will harness the use of social media to encourage residents to recycle more at home. A suite of #FoilFriday social media assets promoting best practice recycling advice and linking to key themes throughout the year, are available to download for free from the Alupro website.

The six-month initiative also supplies website content, a foil fact sheet and local press releases for use throughout the campaign – with all promotional materials also available in Welsh.

Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, commented: “One of our key roles as an organisation is consumer education and by working closely with local authorities, we’re able to effectively communicate the benefits and importance of recycling aluminium packaging.

“Throughout all of our campaigns, the most important message is that aluminium is infinitely recyclable, meaning it can be repurposed time and time again – and crucially, this is where making a few small changes can add up to a big environmental impact.

“We’re confident that this campaign will enable us to reach a wider audience, while also contributing to the increase in aluminium packaging recycling rates.”

To download your #FoilFriday campaign materials click here.

Last week, pupils from Stilton Primary School in Peterborough learned all about the benefits of recycling metal packaging at a special workshop. Hosted by Eleanor Shorland from Tata Steel, the session explored the recycling process and gave practical advice about how best to separate packaging at the kerbside.

In total, more than 90 schoolchildren attended the workshop, which follows shortly behind the launch of a new recycling awareness campaign by RECAP, the waste partnership between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

‘MetalMatters’ used social media messaging and local radio advertising, alongside outdoor advertising, to communicate the widespread benefits of metal packaging recycling with local residents. Aiming to increase both collection volumes and recycling quality, the campaign reached an estimated 327,000 households.

Eleanor Shorland, Packaging Recycling Education Officer at Tata Steel, commented: “Engaging with the recyclers of tomorrow and educating them about best practice is so important. If we can make sustainability fun and relatable early on, it’s far more likely that they’ll prioritise the environment – and recycle their used metal packaging – in the future.

“As part of my role, I’ve held hundreds of workshops all over the UK to help educate children about recycling – why it’s so important, how best to do it and the wide range of products that we can create using empty packaging that would otherwise be thrown in the bin. The more pupils we can engage with, the more recycling advocates we can inspire!”

Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, the organisation behind MetalMatters, added: “Since we launched the first MetalMatters campaign back in 2012, Tata Steel has been a committed partner. Hand in hand with each of our awareness campaigns, Eleanor gets out to as many local schools as she possibly can to help spread the recycling message further.

“It’s wonderful to see such fantastic feedback from the workshops and so many enthusiastic pupils. Hopefully the campaigns will work in parallel to really help drive up metal packaging recycling rates across the two counties.”

As part of her educational tour of the RECAP region, Eleanor also visited the Education Centre at Waterbeach Waste Management Park. To find out more about Eleanor’s work, visit https://www.tatasteeleurope.com/packaging/sustainability.

According to recent data published on the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) by the Environment Agency (EA), aluminium packaging recycling volumes continue to increase – showing an impressive uplift compared to 2022 figures.

In Q1 alone, 40,478 tonnes of aluminium packaging were collected for recycling – a 14% increase year-on-year (35,382). Of this volume, 28,850 tonnes were ‘actively’ recycled by consumers through kerbside, bring and on-the-go systems (+14% YOY), while 11,323 were recovered from incinerator bottom ash (IBA), with tonnages jumping +20% YOY.

So far this year, a total of 60,621 tonnes have been captured across the UK, representing a 13% increase compared to the same period last year (53,725). While the obligation is lower across all material types, this demonstrates continued progress.

Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, commented: “The UK’s latest PRN data shows an impressive increase when it comes to separately collected aluminium packaging, material recovered from IBA and other local protocol fractions. It’s positive news indeed that PRNs issued to date this year are already well ahead of target.

“While we can’t guarantee that this pace will continue throughout the rest of 2023, with six months of the year – and the busy Christmas period – still to go, the feel is decidedly positive across the supply chain when it comes to outperforming 2022 figures.

“We’re still awaiting market data to be submitted by some companies, which once again suggests that enforcement needs to be better and system reform is critical. However, if recycling volumes continue to climb and the obligation remains stable once missing data has been entered, we could be on course for an impressive total tonnage for 2023.

“Although some industry critics had suggested that the high recycling rates experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic were just a short-term trend, it’s reassuring to see that impressive volumes have continued. This is, in part, due to changing consumer behaviours, driven by programmes such as Every Can Counts and MetalMatters.”

To access the National Packaging Waste Database, visit www.npwd.environment-agency.gov.uk.

Tom Giddings, Alupro’s executive director, will share his views on the conditions needed to achieve an ‘aluminium-friendly’ DRS at this year’s Environmental Packaging Summit. Taking place between 13-14 June at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham, the event will bring together experts from across the packaging supply chain to discuss key industry trends and developments.

Organised by Packaging News, the two-day event will cover a range of topics including environmental packaging, legislation and industry engagement. While EPR reforms and DRS legislation will be a core focus across both days, day one will also feature a number of sessions on net zero, while discussions around the wider supply chain and industry engagement will feature heavily on day two.

As part of the illustrious agenda, Tom will join a DRS panel discussion to debate the latest developments across all four nations. Other panellists include Keith Allen, commercial sustainability director at Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I; Sam Gold, public affairs manager at British Soft Drinks Association; and Phil Fenton, lead packaging and recycling adviser at British Glass. The panel ‘Deposit Return Schemes – will the UK get interoperability?’ will take place at 3.40pm on Tuesday 13 June.

Also joining a panel discussion at the event is Martin Hyde, Alupro’s sustainability and public affairs manager. At midday on Wednesday 14 June, Martin will take to the stage with Paldeep Bhatti, head of research and policy at INCPEN; and Margaret Bates, managing director of ORPL, for an in-depth session surrounding ‘Industry engagement with UK citizens’.

In comment, Giddings said: “With significant policy changes set to transform the packaging industry over the coming months, we’re looking forward to sharing our thoughts and participating in debate to discuss the future of metal packaging recycling and its role in driving the circular economy of tomorrow.

“The Summit provides a great opportunity to shout about the successes of our campaigns, demonstrate how our initiatives are encouraging consumers to recycle, and put forward our views on recent consultation responses. We’ll also be reiterating the importance of the infrastructure changes needed to move ever closer towards a 100% recycling rate.”

For more information about the Environmental Packaging Summit, or to register your attendance, visit https://summit.packagingnews.co.uk/eps2023/en/page/2023-home-page.

ENDS

A new campaign promoting metal packaging recycling has been introduced by RECAP, the waste partnership between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. In a bid to improve kerbside recycling rates, households across the region are being encouraged to recycle their aluminium wrapping foil and foil trays, food and drinks cans, as well as empty aerosols and metal screw tops.

Spearheaded by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), the ‘MetalMatters’ programme will use targeted social media messaging and local radio advertising, alongside an outdoor advertising campaign, to communicate the widespread benefits of metal packaging recycling.

The six-week initiative is expected to reach more than 327,000 households across seven local authorities – Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Peterborough City Council. Since its launch in 2012, more than 119 local authorities have adopted MetalMatters, with recycling rates improving in result.

Bryony Rothwell, RECAP Waste Partnership Managercommented: “At RECAP, our goal is to drive recycling rates up and reduce waste by identifying environmentally responsible ways to meet the needs of our local communities. MetalMatters will allow us to engage with residents across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, encouraging them to think about their recycling habits and how best to dispose of their metal packaging.”

Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, added: “For more than a decade, our MetalMatters programme has been educating the public about the benefits and importance of recycling metal packaging. We’re confident that the introduction of this campaign will help to drive an increase in recycling rates and households taking positive action across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“For us, the most important message is that metal is infinitely recyclable, meaning the quality and properties of the metal will be unchanged during the recycling process. Making a few small changes can add up to a big environmental impact.”

Funded by the metal packaging industry, MetalMatters aims to educated householders about the benefits of metal packaging and encourage them to recycle. Designed to support kerbside recycling schemes, MetalMatters can be run by any local authority, either region-wide, by collection round or even by demographic targeting.

For more information about MetalMatters, or to register your interest, visit, www.metalmatters.org.uk.