Chances are that if you cast your mind back to the late eighties and early nineties, you’ll probably remember a time when everyday household recycling focused primarily on one humble item. That being, the aluminium drinks can. Up and down the United Kingdom, kids and adults of all ages not only began separating their own cans, but heading out and about to collect used cans and bag them for recycling.
The prospect of being able to literally transform one man’s trash into another’s treasure had a big a lasting impact on a lot of people.
These days, aluminium cans account for the lion’s share of the 180,000 tonnes of aluminium packaging that makes its way in circulation annually. Here in the United Kingdom, we currently have the biggest beverage can market in the whole of Europe. Which is why it’s great to hear that according to the latest round of figures, a full 70% of all drinks cans are now being appropriately recycled in Great Britain. That’s seven out of every ten cans produced being recycled and put back into the system, meaning that the industry is well on its way to meeting the 2025 target of 80%.
“The continued growth is due to the support of our members and partners in the wider industry and their commitment to invest in and support our programmes to drive positive, lasting behaviour change among consumers.” Said Alupro executive director Rick Hindley.
Though the figures are reassuring, Alupro believes that nowhere near enough is being done at a governmental level to encourage better recycling practices nationwide. Not only as far as everyday consumer recycling is concerned, but also measures that target the producers and recycling companies accordingly.
“We remain convinced that future growth in aluminium recycling performance is achievable within the current system, subject to a few revisions which will ensure all recycling is accurately reported and that behaviour change programmes are properly funded on a fair and equitable basis” the company wrote.
“Alupro believes that communication is the missing link between the collection infrastructure and recycling growth, as has been proved over and again by industry-funded programmes such as MetalMatters and Every Can Counts,”
”Our focus remains to make people aware of the aluminium in the packaging they use every day and how to recycle it, so that the metal can be given a new life, over and over again.”
Here at Take My Scrap Car, we’ve long been believers in the importance of making recycling as simple and rewarding as possible, in order to encourage better habits in general. The easier it is to do the right thing, the more likely people in general are to do it. Aluminium can recycling has long been a very simple example of modern recycling practices, but still has a long way to go.
It’s one thing to recycle your cans when you’re at home, but what about when you’re out and about? Would greater provision of separated public recycling bins make a difference?
As far as Alupro, no efforts can be considered too great to ensure future targets are met.
