Palm Recycling and Sefton Borough Council have won an award for their joint ‘MetalMatters’ recycling campaign that encourages residents to recycle more metal.
The two organisations picked up the ‘Best Local Authority Recycling Communications Campaign’ award for their campaigning efforts across Sefton at the British Aerosols Manufacturing Association (BAMA) ‘Can Do Awards 2012’ last week (19 November). The awards were set up to encourage local authorities to promote the recycling of aerosol cans.
The campaign, funded by aluminium packaging recycling company, Alupro, included radio and newspaper advertising, leaflet drops to Sefton households, promotional messaging on Palm Recycling’s collection vehicles and road shows held across Bootle, Crosby, Maghull and Southport.
Following these activities, it was reported that as well as increasing the capture rates of metal packaging recycling, the campaign saw a 50 per cent increase in the split of cans collected at the kerbside.
The joint campaign was judged to be the most innovative and effective in encouraging households to recycle more metal. The two bodies were awarded a trophy, certificate and a customised graphic worth £1000 for one of their kerbside collection vehicles at a presentation ceremony at Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre in Liverpool.
Mandy Kelly, Business Development Director of Palm Recycling, which services 124,000 Sefton households and collects cans, paper, glass, food waste and textiles in segregated kerbside collections, commented on the award, saying: “It goes to show just how important and effective partnering can be in order to achieve a mutually beneficial goal – greater recycling of metal.”
She continued: “The MetalMatters communications programme, funded by Alupro, engaged the local community by getting them to consider metal as an important material to recycle, based on its high raw material value and endless recyclable uses.”
Sefton councillor Trish Hardy, Cabinet Member for Communities and Environment, added: “The MetalMatters campaign really hit home with residents across the borough and shows how effective campaigns like this can be.”
‘MetalMatters’ is the UK’s latest and largest recycling programme, developed and funded by the metal packaging manufacturing industry, reprocessors and fillers. The programme is supported by WRAP and managed by Alupro.
Read more about Alupro’s ‘MetalMatters’ campaign.
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.