As part of a partnership between Every Can Counts and Brighton & Hove City Council, we’ve constructed a giant rainbow archway comprising 2,500 recycled drinks cans on the Brighton Beach seafront.
Created as a tribute to key workers and to raise awareness about the importance of recycling, the four-metre-high installation aims to tackle litter and promote the infinite recyclability of aluminium drink cans. The cans have been supplied by Go Green, a charitable can recycling initiative managed by the Emily Jordan Foundation, which prevents metal packaging from going to landfill and provides meaningful day opportunities to people with learning disabilities and complex needs.
Chris Latham-Warde, Every Can Counts UK Programme Manager, commented: “We’ve created this rainbow archway as a tribute to the infinite good that has been done by key workers across the country during the coronavirus pandemic. We owe so much to them for their continued work on the frontline to keep us safe and well and, of course, it’s thanks to them that we’ve been able to keep recycling.
“We hope this tribute will inspire people to do infinite good in their own lives – and we’d like to suggest that looking after the environment by recycling your empty drink cans is a great place to start. Because drink cans recycle forever, the benefits of putting them in the right bin keep adding up – so playing your part in keeping the cycle going makes a real difference.”
Caroline Lucas, Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion, added: “It’s wonderful to see the Every Can Counts initiative in Brighton highlighting the importance of recycling valuable aluminium cans. I’m looking forward to seeing the giant rainbow of recycled cans, which will serve both as a great eye-catching sculpture for the campaign and as a celebration of the service of key workers during this pandemic. There will be roaming recycling ambassadors to speak to people about the campaign and a photo competition with the rainbow so do head down and see what it’s all about!”
Councillor Amy Heley, joint chair of Brighton & Hove City Council’s Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, concluded: “Our city’s beautiful open spaces have been a much-needed respite for many residents during the lockdown, especially the beach. The downside has been the staggering amount of litter that has been generated. It’s taken a lot of hard work from our teams to keep our beach and parks clean. There are plenty of litter and recycling bins along the seafront so there’s no excuse for leaving a mess.
“We hope the rainbow helps to remind everyone how important it is to look after our beach and recycle more, especially when out and about. Our current recycling rate is still only 29.4% and a city like Brighton & Hove needs to do much, much better. We’ve installed more than 170 multi-coloured triple bins on the seafront where people can recycle cans, paper, cardboard and glass, as well as bin their litter. And if you can’t find a bin, please take your recycling home to put in your household collection.”
The Every Can Counts rainbow archway will remain in situ on Brighton & Hove’s seafront between the Upside Down House and i360 until 14th September.
Alongside the installation, we’ve created pavement graffiti and positioned a number of posters and billboards along the seafront. Over the bank holiday weekend, a team of Every Can Counts recycling ambassadors will be on-site to showcase the exhibition and roam busy beach areas to educate and inspire visitors to do the right thing with their empty drink cans.
