UK

How are you promoting recycling in your workplace? It’s a question which Bristol-based customer support specialist, Subfero, has answered with flying colours. As a result of their outstanding efforts to improve drink can recycling in the office, they have been presented presented with an Every Can Counts, Green Can Award. The Green Can Award scheme recognises businesses who have gone above and beyond to improve drink can recycling infrastructure and increase organisational engagement rates.

How Have Subfero Been Promoting Recycling in the Workplace?

The judges were impressed with Subfero’s sustainability initiative, which helped to promote recycling in the workplace through the appointment of two recycling champions, implementation of beverage can collection points around the office and coordination of a fun recycling-themed event for staff members.

Alongside a green fancy dress code, the event saw team members from the company’s Bristol site ‘shoot some hoops’, with points awarded for throwing beverage cans through a basketball hoop into an Every Can Counts-branded recycling bin. Team members also submitted their entries to a can-related pun competition throughout the day, before the event culminated in a Subfero Can-Can dance.

What We Had to Say About the Award

Megan Goswell, head of people at Subfero, commented: “We are extremely proud to be presented with a Green Can Award for our recycling efforts. At Subfero, we are passionate about reducing our environmental footprint and always look for new and engaging ways to do this. “To help increase beverage can recycling rates in the office, we knew we needed to do something a little different. Our special staff event blended fun activities with serious recycling messaging to help raise awareness of the benefits of recycling among the team.

“It was a fantastic way to have a bit of fun, but at the same time remind everyone about the benefits of recycling drinks cans.” Megan continued. “We are really excited to continue our commitment to the environment and recycling, and we can’t wait to introduce even more creative initiatives to highlight the Every Can Counts message in the future.”

Chris Latham-Warde, programme manager at Every Can Counts UK, comments: “We’ve been really impressed by Subfero’s recycling programme along with their creative approach to engaging employees and are pleased to be recognising their efforts with this award. Research conducted by Every Can Counts last year found that only 43% of Brits often or always recycle when at work, so we hope Subfero’s activities will inspire others to promote recycling in the workplace too – while having some fun at the same time!”

Learn More About Subfero’s Sustainability Initiative

For more information about Subfero and their recycling activities, visit www.subfero.com/its-easy-being-green-day-every-can-counts/.

Are you Promoting Recycling in the Workplace?

Want to help us shine a spotlight on those going the extra mile to encourage recycling? Submit an application for a Green Can Award and let’s recognise the people, businesses and organisations that are making their cans count! Click here to learn more about the Green Can Awards and apply online.

Premium canned wine and cocktails brand Sipful Drinks is partnering with Every Can Counts to inspire and encourage more people to recycle their empty drink cans.  The partnership will see Sipful Drinks become the first brand in the UK to carry the Every Can Counts logo on its range of canned products.

Sipful, launched in May 2020, is committed to producing drinks using sustainable and recyclable packaging. Sipful believes aluminium drink cans are the ultimate packaging format due to their infinite and energy-efficient recyclability, and the team are currently in the process of establishing Sipful’s own production facility with the aim of becoming a zero-waste production and packaging facility.

Sipful founder Darius Darwell comments:

“Reducing waste and increasing recycling are two very clear objectives for us. Sustainability will be built into our DNA as a business, with the aim of creating a consumer brand committed to always trying to be better in the hope that Sipful Drinks will become a positive change for a more sustainable future. As I grew up on an organic and biodynamic farm, sustainability and the environment were always “hot topic” in my household, well before they were used widely as marketing buzzwords. We’re dead proud to be a canned product – we are delighted to be working with Every Can Counts to drive awareness, and are super honoured to be the first brand to proudly display their logo across our full range of products.”

Chris Latham-Warde, Every Can Counts UK Programme Manager, adds:

“We’re very excited to be welcoming Sipful Drinks as a new funding partner of the Every Can Counts UK programme. Sipful’s commitment to sustainability naturally aligns them with Every Can Counts and our mission to engage people with the many benefits of recycling drink cans. We’re thrilled that Sipful will be the first UK brand to introduce the Every Can Counts logo to their cans. Sipful’s eye-catching can design, which also includes the impactful Metal Recycles Forever logo, will help raise awareness about the infinite recyclability of drink cans and remind consumers to do the right thing and recycle. This is a fantastic way to launch our partnership and we’re looking forward to working with Sipful to amplify the recycling message even further with new partnership activations in 2021.”

Focused on authenticity and balance for flavour using only natural ingredients, Sipful’s range of canned drinks includes a Classic Mimosa, Blood Orange Mimosa and Peach Bellini – all made with real fruit, natural flavours and mixed with organic Spanish bubbly wine. The Arien white wine, from La Mancha in central Spain, is also available on its own and will be the first can off the press sporting the Every Can Counts Logo.

90% of people in the UK say that since the COVID-19 outbreak, it is more important than ever to take care of our planet and the environment, a European-wide study by Every Can Counts has found.

Almost all (92%) of the 1,500 UK respondents say that it is an urgent task to tackle recycling while 93% said that considering recycling and its importance for the planet is an obligation of all citizens and consumers, not just world leaders.

73% of Brits stated that during the pandemic they have recycled more than ever, suggesting that the increase in time spent at home has made it easier for people to do their bit and recycle more. Only 43% however, said they often or always recycle when at work and even less when out and about at 41%.

Commenting on the figures, Rick Hindley, Director of Every Can Counts says, “The figures imply that given the time and correct resources, we’re all more than capable of recycling everything we can. It’s when we’re out and about or at work that it becomes more difficult. The findings from the survey also suggest that COVID-19 has prompted us to consider our own fragility as human beings and look at the way we treat the planet, our home.”

“The COVID-19 outbreak has of course brought about devastating effects. However, as we can see from these survey results, one positive is that people are beginning to sit and up and take notice of the vital environmental issues we are facing. Recycling – and especially recycling drink cans given that aluminium is infinitely recyclable – is something we can all do to help the planet. Over the past five years, the UK recycling rate for drink cans has increased by 16% to an impressive 76%. Our vision is to get that to 100%.”

Brits echoed this call to action with 91% saying they would like to do more when it comes to recycling and a massive 82% feeling that more needs to be done in general to encourage recycling.

From a UK regional perspective, Covid-19 appears to have raised the importance of environmental issues amongst the Scots and East of England most with 95% saying it is now more important than ever to take care of the planet. It seems the South East have been the least affected at 84%. And, when it comes to economy versus environment, the East Midlands are more preoccupied with the nation’s finances with 71% agreeing that in these uncertain economic times, the economy is currently more important that the environment. Yorkshire & Humberside and the South West came out more environmentally concerned however, with just 48% saying the economy is a priority over the environment.

Of the 14 European countries surveyed, Romania, Hungary, Poland and Italy came up top trumps when quantifying the importance of recycling with scores of 90% plus. The UK came in 10^th place with 78%, and Netherlands registered last with just 52% saying they think recycling is very or extremely important.  However, when looking at how recent global challenges have impacted upon attitudes, the UK is ranked up top along with Romania, Italy, Ireland and Greece, where 90% or more of those surveyed said that after COVID-19 it is more important than ever to take care of our planet and recycle.

The survey polled a sample size of 13,793 people older than 16 balanced for age and gender in 14 countries where Every Can Counts has a local initiative (Belgium, Serbia, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France) from August 5 to September 14, 2020.

Recycle Week 2020: Every Can Counts uses Augmented Reality Gaming Technology in a Recycle Week First to Encourage Drink Can Recycling

The new recycling-themed filter game launches on Instagram and Facebook with a competition offering players the chance to win a PlayStation 5

In a Recycle Week first, recycling initiative Every Can Counts is raising the profile of can recycling across Instagram and Facebook through the launch of its new AR filter game “Catch ‘Em If You Can”.

The game challenges players to catch falling drink cans in an on-screen recycling bin, using their head movements to guide the location of the recycling bin. When the game is finished, players find out how many cans they have recycled and are told what aluminium item can be produced with the number of cans collected.

Chris Latham-Warde, Every Can Counts UK Programme Manager said: “We know gamers often enjoy drink cans, so this Recycle Week we’re embracing their world with the launch of our new filter game.  “Catch ‘Em If You Can” gives gamers and social media users the opportunity to have fun while learning about the benefits of recycling drink cans. We’ve designed the game so that it raises awareness of the wide variety of products that can be produced from recycled drink cans, whether that’s producing brand new drink cans or part of a laptop or even part of a sports car. Because metal recycles forever the possibilities really are endless!”

“We have a lot to celebrate this Recycle Week, with over 95,000 tonnes of aluminium packaging already recycled in the UK so far this year – that’s more than any other year on record! This is a fantastic achievement, and we now need to sustain these new highs and keep recycling rates moving in the right direction. Consumer awareness and behaviour change will of course play an important role in this, so at Every Can Counts we’re working harder than ever to engage people with the benefits of recycling drink cans and we’re really excited about the opportunity to reach out to people online through this new AR filter game.”

To enter the “Catch ‘Em If You Can” launch competition and have a chance of winning a PlayStation 5, players need to screenshot their high score and post it on social media, tagging Every Can Counts UK in their post. The filter game can be played on both Facebook and Instagram. The competition will run until midnight Friday 16^th October.

• Click here to play ‘Catch ‘Em If You Can’ on Instagram
• Click here to play ‘Catch ‘Em If You Can’ on Facebook