The Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) is seeking local authority (LA) partners for its ‘You Can Leave Your Cap On’ campaign.
The project, launched in association with British Glass and the European Aluminium Foil Association in July 2013, seeks to encourage householders to recycle metal bottle caps and closures by screwing them back on their bottles before recycling. Alupro says the most effective way to recycle the caps and closures is through the glass recycling system.
This is to combat what Alupro says is a lack of end-user communications on aluminium cap and closure recycling, which it claims has resulted in a loss of approximately 5,000 tonnes of recyclable material, worth over £2 million.
The group now says it is looking to partner with a number of new LAs, in particular one LA ‘that may wish to develop the campaign as part of its kerbside recycling scheme’.
Speaking at the time of the campaign launch, Rebecca Cocking, Head of Container Affairs at British Glass, said: “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.”
‘Exciting opportunity’
Alupro has now developed a number of free promotional materials for LAs to make use of, and is also offering free help to launch and promote the campaign.
Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro, commented on the move, saying: “This is an exciting opportunity for local authorities to engage with its residents to help them recycle more at home and to highlight the value and importance aluminium screw tops and collars have as a recycled material.
“In addition to supporting them through any bring bank schemes, we would particularly like to partner with a local authority in a kerbside scheme and elicit a behavioural change that simply screwing the top back on the bottle before recycling is the simplest and easiest way to do their bit in recovering this valuable, sustainable and recyclable material.”
A number of local authorities, including Bedford Borough Council and Sevenoaks District Council, have already signed up to the project after successful trials.
Read more about caps and closures from Alupro.
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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.