A new recycling communications initiative for local authorities has been launched, in an attempt to increase the recovery of aluminium caps and closures for recycling.

Launched by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), in partnership with British Glass and the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), the ‘You Can Leave Your Cap On’ initiative encourages recyclers to screw the caps back on their glass bottles before recycling, so that the metal can be extracted during the recycling process. The initiative encompasses the ‘Caps and Closures’ campaign funded by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) Closures Group and British Glass, who are both seeking to improve the recycling rates of their respective materials through the initiative.

According to Alupro research, the lack of end-user communications on recycling aluminium caps or closures from glass bottles has led to the loss of approximately 5,000 tonnes of recoverable aluminium, worth over £2 million.

As such, Alupro, British Glass and the EAFA have now launched the ’You Can Leave Your Cap On’ initiative as a trial campaign in four local authorities: Sevenoaks District Council, Portsmouth City Council and Dartford and Bedford Borough Councils. Alupro has said if the trial goes well, the campaign could be rolled out nationwide.

The communications programme has been designed to encourage households to screw the tops back on empty glass bottles – such as wine, spirits and olive oil – before placing them out to recycle through local bring banks or kerbside recycling containers.

Speaking of the new campaign, Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro, said: “The market for aluminium bottle closures is growing rapidly, particularly for wine bottles, so it is important that the consumer gets in the habit of recycling them so that the aluminium can be captured for reprocessing.

“The message to the public is simple; screwing the top back on the empty bottle before recycling is the easiest way for people to do their bit to recycle this valuable material.”

Rebecca Cocking, Head of Container Affairs at British Glass, added: “We see this as an excellent campaign that both informs and helps the consumer to recycle as much as possible. It also highlights the important role bring banks play in getting good quality glass back into the system, helping saving energy and raw materials.”

Sevenoaks trial

Sevenoaks is the first council to trial the campaign, and on Wednesday (4 July), marked the launch of the initiative by branding each of its 223 recycling bring banks with informative stickers. The council will also be promoting the campaign through its website, newsletter and through local media.

Speaking about the launch in Sevenoaks, Avril Hunter, Deputy Cabinet Member for the Environment at Sevenoaks District Council, said: “Screw tops are a far from insignificant part of the waste stream, and because they are made from aluminium their recycling potential is enormous. Thanks to modern recycling methods aluminium bottle tops are easier to recover for recycling when they are collected with the glass, so it is now possible to recycle and continue reusing this precious metal over and over again. We’re urging our residents to help by simply screwing the top back onto the empty bottle and dropping it in their local bottle bank.”

Following the four initial local authority trials over the next few months, results will be measured and announced by Alupro ‘in the autumn’.

The ‘You Can Leave Your Cap On’ campaign compliments other campaigns in promoting the wider adoption of metal recycling, such as Alupro’s ‘MetalMatters’ campaign.