(L-R) Nicola Bennett from Tata Steel representing the Metal Matters funding partners, Mayor Cliff Suller, Councillr Ken Critchley, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, and Lady Mayoress Christine Suller.
Newport City Council has become first Welsh authority to sign up to metal recycling communication campaign, MetalMatters, it has been announced.
The local authority has said it will run the ‘make your metals matter’ campaign to encourage local residents to recycle more of the estimated 75 million units of metal packaging they use each year.
Set to last eight weeks, the campaign will see 65,000 homes in Newport receive leaflets explaining what can be put in the council’s recycling bins and civic amenity sites. It will also explain what happens to the metals after they are collected.
Furthermore, the council will run campaign information in its residents’ magazine and place adverts on lamp posts around the city. Roadshows at local supermarkets and a competition to win a variety of metal products will also seek to spread the message to local people.
Councillor Ken Critchley, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure at Newport City Council, said: “We’re calling on Newport residents to make their metals matter and hope this campaign will help to educate them about metal packaging recycling and the benefits it can have on increasing the city’s sustainability.
“We are committed to decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfill and we hope this campaign will encourage our residents to recycle more of their metal packaging.”
His comments were echoed by Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro, which runs the MetalMatters project: “We are excited to be launching our first MetalMatters campaign in Wales and to be working in partnership with Waste Awareness Wales to co-fund this programme.
“Similar MetalMatters campaigns have delivered impressive results for local authorities and their waste management partners in other areas of the UK, and we are confident that this communications campaign can help Newport City Council to increase recycling capture rates by positively changing consumer behaviour.”
‘Impressive’ results so far
Earlier this year, MetalMatters announced that 2012 had been an ‘unprecedented success’ for the campaign, with an average 20.9 per cent increase in the amount of metal packaging captured for recycling across its nationwide campaigns.
Commenting at the time, Hindley said: “MetalMatters’ achievements to date are impressive and a testament to the commitment involved, from the people on the ground who delivered the campaigns day to day, to our industry funding partners who have committed significant investment in the programme.
“We have big plans for the year ahead and firmly believe the continual growth of the programme lies with widening our network of stakeholders. We would encourage more waste management companies, waste partnerships and local authorities to become involved with MetalMatters.”
Read more about MetalMatters.
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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.