Drinks can recycling programme Every Can Counts has been launched to shoppers and retailers across Barnstaple town centre. Working with BID Barnstaple in partnership with Barnstaple Town Council, Every Can Counts is working toimprove drinks can recycling in the centre’s 400 retail units.  Barnstaple is the first retail centre in the South West to launch the programme.

Every Can Counts has been introduced as part of a focused green strategy, to demonstrate an environmental commitment, which includes diverting as much waste from landfill as possible.  The programme also fits with the BID civic pride initiative, which aims to encourage both traders and shoppers alike to take pride in their town centre.

Every Can Counts has previously partnered with North Devon Council, Ilfracombe Town Council and Woolacombe Parish council to encourage residents to recycle their drinks cans at Ilfracombe and Woolacombe beaches. Cans are being collected and processed by local community recycling enterprise, Community Resources,  a not-for-profit organisation based in Ilfracombe with a satellite unit in Barnstaple, which  provide meaningful, practical and worthwhile activities for adults with learning disabilities.

Expanding on this partnership, each of the 400 stores and restaurants within Barnstaple town centre have been provided with Every Can Counts recycling boxes and promotional materials to encourage both staff and shoppers to recycle their empty drink cans.

Rick Hindley of Every Can Counts comments: “More than nine billion drink cans are sold in the UK each year, and of these around 30% are consumed ‘on the go’. Through the partnership with BID, we will be engaging with two significant groups of ‘on the go’ consumers – those who work in businesses in the town centre and shoppers – so it offers us great opportunity to comprehensively promote drinks can recycling to a wide audience.  We have high hopes for this partnership, and hope to use our experience in Barnstaple to develop further projects with other town centres and retail sites in the future.”

Dane Stanley, Chairman of BID Barnstaple said: “We’re really excited to be the first shopping centre to launch the Every Can Counts programme in the South West.  We truly believe in environmental sustainability, and we are delighted to be able to engage with our shoppers and businesses and allow them to recycle their own cans. We hope other town centres will follow our example and introduce Every Can Counts.”

Although Barnstaple is the first retail site in the South West to introduce Every Can Counts, the programme is being actively promoted in workplaces and to ‘on the go’ consumers around the UK.  525 organisations now use the programme and there are more than 4200 Every Can Counts recycling points in offices, hospitals, universities and tourist sites all over the country.