Wrexham Borough Council has implemented a new on-street drink can recycling programme at key public and leisure locations throughout the county.

Provided by recycling programme Every Can Counts, the bright green can-shaped vessels bins have been designed to make it easier for residents and visitors to recycle, and therefore aim to reduce cross-contamination and costs to the council.

The Every Can Counts programme is part of an overall drive to increase recycling rates to 64 per cent by 2019/20. Managed by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), it is a partnership between European and UK drinks can manufacturers, the aluminium recycling industry and leading drinks brands.

Supported by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), it aims to enable and encourage more people to recycle the drinks cans they use outside the home. To date, the programme has worked with almost 2,300 organisations and installed 12,273 collection points across the UK.

Wrexham’s six new recycling receptacles are located in Llwyn Isaf, Waterworld, Alyn Waters Country Park and Tŷ Mawr Country Park, as well as at the Housing, Public Protection and Environment Department building.

The initiative follows the council holding a ‘Metal Matters’ campaign (also managed by Alupro) in February 2015 that targeted 62,000 households in Wrexham. The campaign aimed to educate householders to recycle more of the metal packaging they use at home and put out for their household kerbside recycling.

New bins to help reduce avoidable costs

Councillor David Bithell, Lead Member for Place – Environment and Transport at Wrexham County Borough Council, said: “We provide very limited ‘on-the-go’ street recycling bins for cans, bottles and paper throughout Wrexham. Unfortunately, these are often mistaken for litter bins and filled with incorrect materials, meaning the waste has to be treated via the mechanical biological treatment plant, adding avoidable costs to the recycling process.

“As well as increasing the number of locations residents and visitors can recycle, the Every Can Counts bright green can shaped receptacles and clear signage is likely to reduce this cross contamination and increase the recycling rates of drinks cans.”

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Every Can Counts, said: “Cross-contamination is a major issue for council waste services and these recycling bins have been designed to make it as clear as possible. However, Every Can Counts isn’t just for councils, we also work with businesses to reduce waste costs by increasing recycle rates of drinks cans with free to use bins and communications material.”

More information about Every Can Counts can be found at the programme’s website.