A campaign urging residents to recycle their cans, foil, empty aerosols, trays and metal screw tops is underway in Buckinghamshire.
Buckinghamshire County Council is the 110th local authority to carry out the ‘MetalMatters’ recycling campaign, with the help of the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro).
The council has handed out leaflets to over 200,000 households, with more material due to be distributed after six weeks.
Campaign posters will be put up at Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) and shared on social media, along with a selection of online resources, which are being made available to local primary schools.
MetalMatters looks to both educate the public on the best practices of recycling metals and encourage them to recycle more domestically.
Created to assist kerbside recycling schemes, the campaign can be used by any local authority, either throughout the whole of the council area, picking specific kerbside collection rounds or even by demographic targeting.
Andrew Jenkins, waste promotions lead officer at Buckinghamshire County Council, commented: “While our residents have already formed good recycling habits, as a county, we know we can do better.
“Through the MetalMatters programme, we are working to educate and inform local residents about which metal packaging can be recycled and which cannot. We look forward to seeing the results!”
Rick Hindley, executive director at Alupro, added: “Working in partnership with Buckinghamshire County Council provides us with a fantastic opportunity to promote best practice recycling advice to householders.
“Over the past few years, the MetalMatters campaign has delivered significant results and increased the amount of metal packaging collected across the UK. We hope to continue raising awareness and get more local councils involved in the programme.”
Alupro currently has a waste data deal with Resource Efficient Data to help analyse the progress made in the UK’s recycling sphere. 2020 was a record breaking year with aluminium packaging recycling reaching record levels in July.
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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.