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Every Can Counts celebrates its partnership with Foil for Snappy

Every Can Counts celebrates its partnership with Foil for Snappy 1829 2560 ChrisUK

Known for its celebrated historical landmarks, city walls and a variety of cultural activities, York is a very popular destination in England.  Amongst its Viking heritage and ancient buildings, York is also home to charities and projects with noble missions to help those in need. A particularly popular initiative is Foil for Snappy.

Created by Karen Nash in December 2012, Foil for Snappy recycles drink cans and other aluminium packaging to help raise funds for The Snappy Trust. The Snappy Trust, formerly known as S.N.A.P.P.Y. (Special Needs Activities and Play Provision for York), is a registered charity that supports children and young people across York with wide-ranging disabilities.

Now operating over 50 collection points across York, the Foil for Snappy project has grown significantly over the years. These collection points are hosted in a wide range of locations across the city, including supermarket car parks, community buildings, local businesses and universities. Karen collects drink cans, foil and household cables for recycling and the material is sold to L. Clancey & Sons – an aluminium recycling centre based on the outskirts of the city.

In February 2019, Karen was awarded an Every Can Counts Green Can award in recognition of her hard work and dedication to the initiative. We recently paid Karen a visit to catch-up on Foil for Snappy’s latest achievements and future plans. Welcomed with a smile and warm chocolate cupcakes, we spoke with Karen about how everything started and how she joined forces with Every Can Counts to grow the initiative.

We also had the opportunity to speak with Anne Stamp, Service Manager at The Snappy Trust, who spoke about the positive impact Karen’s relentless work has had on both the charity and the local community.

The Glasshouse is a social space in the heart of the University of York where drink cans are collected for recycling in support of The Snappy Trust. Daniel Stringer, Manager of The Glasshouse, told us how the venue started to collect and recycle cans for Karen.

Every Can Counts has supported Foil for Snappy by providing can collection bins, posters and digital graphics for use on social media channels. The Every Can Counts collection bins help people recycle their drink cans more easily when they are out and about.  If you would like to find out more about how Every Can Counts can support businesses and organisations in your local area, please get in touch by emailing everycancounts@alupro.org.uk or call the team on 01527 597757.

  • ChrisUK

Brits call for more ‘on the go’ can recycling facilities

Brits call for more ‘on the go’ can recycling facilities 7250 8333 ChrisUK

Survey finds on-street facilities the most in-demand

As our habit for consuming ‘on-the-go’ food and drink continues to rise, research conducted by Every Can Counts has highlighted that 60% of consumers are calling for more can recycling facilities on the street, while 56% would like to see more on beach fronts, and 51% are calling for more facilities at music and sporting events.

Infographic with title which reads 'Where do you think more can recycling points are needed'. From left to right; outline of person crossing street with text underneath, 'On the street 60%; outline of beach with parasol and deck chair with text underneath, 'Beach fronts 56%'; icon of person playing tennis and a guitar beside them with text, 'music and sport events'; outline of shopping bag with text, 'shopping centres 47%'; outline of mortarboard hat with text, 'Universities and colleges 42%'; outline of petrol pump with text, 'Petrol stations 35%'.

The Every Can Counts survey of over 10,000 people was conducted across 30 festival and sporting events in 2019. As well as investigating where more can recycling facilities are needed, the survey also examined perceptions around the recyclability of different drink containers.  58% of respondents deemed drink cans to be one of the most recyclable containers, followed by plastic bottles (44%), glass bottles (26%) and then cartons (12%).

When presented with the recycling facts, 56% of those surveyed were astonished to learn that drink cans are infinitely recyclable, while the fact that a recycled drink can could be back on a shop shelf in just 60 days impressed 28% of respondents the most.

Chris Latham-Warde, Every Can Counts Programme Manager, commented: “As we become increasingly aware of the impact our lifestyles have on the environment, it is important that we as an organisation gain an insight into recycling attitudes and understand any barriers that consumers may face. This research enables us to focus our activities so we can better support consumer desires to recycle more, ensuring we continue to progress towards our vision of a 100% recycling rate for drink cans.”

The current recycling rate for drink cans in the UK stands at 75% but there is still plenty of room to drive up the recycling rate of this valuable material. The Every Can Counts programme works with people, organisations and events to promote drink can recycling and to inspire people to think differently about the value of their empty can.

  • ChrisUK

Friends of Wombwell Park win Green Can Award

Friends of Wombwell Park win Green Can Award 2560 1704 ChrisUK

The hard efforts of a Barnsley based community group has resulted in worthy recognition; the ‘Friends of Wombwell Park’ have been awarded a Green Can Award for the steps they have taken to introduce recycling facilities to Wombwell Park. 

Previously there were no recycling bins anywhere in Wombwell Park and park users had to dispose of all materials in general waste litter bins.  The Friends of Wombwell Park saw an opportunity to increase recycling rates and set about forging a partnership with the recycling programme, Every Can Counts.  There are now drink can collection points set up throughout the park, making it easier for the local community to recycle their empty cans when they are out and about.  The group has raised awareness about these new recycling points by displaying Every Can Counts posters and signs around the park, as well as actively promoting the new facilities on social media.

In addition to the environmental benefits of recycling drink cans, the group is harnessing the value of aluminium to raise funds for further improvements to the park.  The money raised by recycling the cans collected is put towards various projects to benefit park users, including improvements to the popular skatepark area.

Carmel Seston, Recycling Champion for the Friends of Wombwell Park, said: “We had a wonderful afternoon at the presentation of the Green Can Award.  It was well attended by members of the local community and provided an opportunity for sharing ideas on the expansion of this project to include a wider area and a greater range of recycled materials.  The Every Can Counts programme provides a focus for community groups to work together to promote recycling.  By working together, we have helped to inspire positive behaviour change in the local area by promoting recycling behaviours, and it’s fantastic to have this recognised with a Green Can Award.”

Chris Latham-Warde, Every Can Counts Programme Manager, said: “It’s inspiring to see the work the Friends of Wombwell Park have done to engage the local community with recycling behaviours.  By establishing can collection points in the park and raising awareness of the many benefits of recycling drink cans, the group is tackling some of the most common barriers to recycling and inspiring more people to do the right thing with their empty cans.”

Since setting up can recycling points in the park, the group collects around 250 drink cans every week and continues to use this recycling activity to raise funds for further improvements to the park.

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In 2020: Be More Like Bangor University

In 2020: Be More Like Bangor University 2560 1707 ChrisUK

The beginning of a new year is an exciting time, full of resolutions to make better choices. During this month we will share some inspiring stories of those who are making a positive difference already.

In 2019, Bangor University in Wales partnered with Every Can Counts to improve on-site can recycling facilities for its 11,000 students and 2,000 members of staff. The University introduced branded Every Can Counts recycling bins in eight locations, providing students and staff with the opportunity to recycle drink cans whilst ‘on the go’.

The Every Can Counts recycling bins were introduced as part of Waste Awareness Week #WAW19, Bangor University’s annual campaign. The event was promoted across social media channels as well as by email to students and staff to increase awareness and encourage them to recycle more when walking around the University.

Gwen Holland, Sustainability Research Officer and Campus Waste Co-ordinator said: “Bangor University was delighted to be approached by the Every Can Counts campaign and jumped at the opportunity to receive ‘on the go’ can recycling bins for our estate. Aluminium cans are a great material to capture as they are closed loop, which means they can be recycled over and over, forever, with no loss of quality and using only 5% of the energy used when creating the product from new.”

“We hope this will be yet another step to ensure valuable material is captured here at Bangor, and not lost to energy recovery”, said Gwen.

Julie Meeks from Every Can Counts, said: “Bangor University has taken on the Every Can Counts programme as part of their proactive approach and by working together we aim to improve recycling across the site with the branded bins.”

At Every Can Counts, we urge more colleges and universities to get involved and start working with our programme; whether universities are looking for help promoting existing recycling facilities, or for those looking to start a new recycling scheme from scratch, we’re here to help!

This year be more like Bangor University and implement our free-to-use can recycling programme to help shape the sustainability of your institution.

Request your FREE starter pack NOW and start making a difference at https://www.everycancounts.co.uk/getstarted/

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In 2020, Be More Like: Ecosurety

In 2020, Be More Like: Ecosurety 1600 1200 ChrisUK

The beginning of a new year is an exciting time, full of resolutions to make better choices. During this month we will share some inspiring stories of those who are making a positive difference already.

Let us introduce Ecosurety, a leading producer responsibility compliance scheme investing in quality recycling for packaging, WEEE and batteries in the UK.  Last year, team members volunteered to join us at Boomtown Fair as Every Can counts ambassadors.

Alice Flavin, Ecosurety Business Development Manager tells us all about the partnership:

“At Ecosurety, it is important for us to get out of the office and to get stuck into something different. Four of us decided to take our three volunteering days and go to a festival to promote can recycling! It was great to work with the Every Can Counts team, their energy and passion really made those early mornings easier.”

“They supported us to have the “get up and go” attitude to get down to the campsites and tell a few fun facts about can recycling with the festival-goers and grab some cans along the way in our big green can backpacks!”, said Alice.

This first-hand experience showed how receptive festival-goers are regarding the importance of environmentally friendly initiatives.

“I think that festival-goers really want to make a difference and do the right thing, but there seems to be a real sense of consumer confusion around what to do with their waste outside of their home. The addition of the large can recycling bins on our back definitely made for a good feature, leading festival-goers to chuck their cans in as we wandered through the campsite. I would say my take away point would be if recycling waste isn’t made easy for consumers, the motivation to do the right thing decreases” said Alice.

This year, be more like Ecosurety and join us in our mission to spread the love for the infinite recyclability of drink cans.

Learn more on how you can work with us on our website https://www.everycancounts.co.uk/getstarted/

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In 2020, Be More Like: Kent Police East Division’s Green Guardians

In 2020, Be More Like: Kent Police East Division’s Green Guardians 2560 1704 ChrisUK

The beginning of a new year is an exciting time, full of resolutions to make better choices. During this month we will share some inspiring stories of those who are making a positive difference already.

Our first source of inspiration is the Kent Police East Division’s ‘Green Guardians’ team.

The team wanted to raise awareness and influence behaviour change to reduce the carbon footprint of Kent Police by upgrading the recycling facilities available to their staff. Working alongside their waste contractor, SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, the team signed up to Every Can Counts and created dedicated recycling points at each of the six police stations in the area, to ensure waste was segregated correctly and contamination was minimised.

Fred McCormack, Detective Inspector, Kent Police said “In support of our five-year Carbon Management Plan, Kent Police Green Guardians are working hard to ensure as much of their waste is recycled as possible. Police officers and staff love their cans of pop so by ensuring every can is collected and recycled properly we hope to prevent unnecessary virgin aluminium being used in the future.”

The scheme has been so successful that the programme is being rolled out across the North and West divisions of Kent Police, as well as the Force Headquarters. The team were awarded an Every Can Counts ‘Green Can Award’ which recognises all the hard work of the officers and staff.

Julie Meeks from Every Can Counts, said: “Kent Police has taken on the Every Can Counts programme as part of their proactive approach to creating a sustainable working environment. We urge more Police stations to get involved and sign up to the free to use Every Can Counts programme.”

This year be more like Kent Police Green Guardians East Division and implement our free-to-use can recycling programme to shape the sustainability of your working environment.

Request your free starter pack NOW and start making a difference at https://everycancounts.co.uk/getstarted/

  • ChrisUK

Every Can Counts celebrates its partnership with Beach Guardian

Every Can Counts celebrates its partnership with Beach Guardian 1920 1080 ChrisUK

One of the most beautiful locations in the UK, Cornwall is almost entirely surrounded by the Atlantic, a magnificent coastline of some 300 miles.  Boasting spectacular beaches and captivating fishing harbours, the surf provides a natural playground for locals and holidaymakers.  And amongst the Cornish cream teas and surfboards, we find Beach Guardian.

Beach Guardian connects people with the environment to improve health and wellbeing, through regular community beach cleans and educational workshops with schools and other groups.

Every Can Counts has been working in partnership with Beach Guardian for over a year, so what better time to pack jumpers, wellies and waterproofs and head south-west in order to get involved in their fabulous work first-hand.

Against a backdrop of seriously wet and wild weather, the founders of Beach Guardian took us on a tour of the coastline, so we could see for ourselves how local businesses have implemented Every Can Counts on their premises.  We got stuck into a beach clean and spoke to people who have a shared commitment to protect the environment.  It is fair to say that we were cold, whipped by the gale-force winds, soaked to the skin, and most importantly – truly inspired.

For Emily Stevenson, Beach Guardian is a passion.  With her bold statement of wearing a graduation gown made of Walkers crisp packets, Emily reaches out to the world to increase awareness of the need to protect our precious oceans.

We learn from Rob Stevenson, who co-founded the project with daughter Emily Stevenson, how small regular beach cleans blossomed into Beach Guardian.

Mother Ivey’s Bay is home to an award-winning holiday park and is one of the many sites Beach Guardian and Every Can Counts have worked with to support drink can recycling.  Guests, team members and sustainability are at the heart of this long-established business.  Owner Patrick explains how they got involved with Beach Guardian.

Every Can Counts has supported Beach Guardian by providing can collection bins and free-standing can crushers to sites across Cornwall, so people can recycle their drink cans more easily when they are out and about.  If you would like to find out more about how Every Can Counts can support businesses and organisations in your local area, please get in touch by emailing everycancounts@alupro.org.uk or call the team on 01527 597757.

  • ChrisUK

Celebrating 10 Years of Every Can Counts

Celebrating 10 Years of Every Can Counts 2000 666 ChrisUK

Every Can Counts is celebrating its 10th Birthday and a decade of continued growth and success!
In 2008 research by the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) found that at least 30% of the drink cans sold in the UK were consumed ‘on the go’ or away from home. With that in mind, drink can makers and metal packaging recyclers decided to work together to develop a behaviour change programme that would encourage and make it easier for people to recycle drink cans when they are out of the home. And so it was that Every Can Counts was launched in 2009.

Fast forward ten years and the Every Can Counts programme has established itself as Europe’s leading out of home recycling behaviour change programme, inspiring people to recycle their drink cans wherever they are. The programme’s ambitious vision is for every drink can across Europe to be recycled.

Rick Hindley, Executive Director of Alupro, said: “Every Can Counts has gone from strength to strength since its launch back in 2009. The programme has expanded across Europe to 16 countries, which is a testament to the strength of the brand and its clear messaging, enabling Every Can Counts to engage with a broad spectrum of stakeholders. Our commitment to innovation and further development of the programme is ensuring that Every Can Counts continues to lead the way towards higher recycling rates by driving consumer behaviour change.”

Every Can Counts works with a wide range of stakeholders to introduce and improve drink can recycling. Programme partners include leading brands, businesses, universities and colleges, tourist attractions and festival and event organisers. Since its launch, thousands of organisations have signed up to the programme and there are now more than 15,000 Every Can Counts branded recycling points around the UK.

Over 20% of these recycling points donate the cans they collect to local community groups, which raise funds for charitable causes and run social activities using the money generated by the sale of drink cans. Every Can Counts continues to support and promote these groups, highlighting the possibility for drink can recycling to provide social benefit to local communities in addition to the significant environmental benefits.

In recent years, an increasingly significant part of the Every Can Counts UK programme has been its work with festivals and events where large volumes of cans are consumed. In 2019, Every Can Counts partnered with more events than ever before delivering activations at 30 events including Download Festival, Latitude Festival, Boomtown Fair and the Tough Mudder endurance series.

Every Can Counts is updating the look and feel of its brand ahead of 2020, with plans to utilise a wider range of communications channels and explore innovative new activation opportunities.  Bolstered by its largest-ever presence across Europe, Every Can Counts is gearing up for another exciting year of putting the fun in recycling and spreading the brand’s messages further than ever before.

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Reflecting on a Summer of Sustainable Events

Reflecting on a Summer of Sustainable Events 2560 1920 ChrisUK

Festivals are big business, and the UK has gained a reputation for hosting a diverse calendar of events large and small.  However, organisers are under significant pressure to ensure their events are as sustainable as possible.

The growing demand for festivals to go plastics-free this summer led to a significant rise in the interest in our drink can recycling programme, Every Can Counts.

Who Are We?

Every Can Counts is the leading programme to promote drink can recycling. Originally conceived in 2009, our aim remains simple and straightforward – to inspire everyone to make a difference by recycling their drink cans when they are away from home.

The Every Can Counts programme is unique in that it brings together a broad spectrum of partners; organisers of iconic festivals, sports events, well-known drink brands, independent event organisers, packaging manufacturers, community groups, industry bodies and waste and recycling contractors.

Click here to learn more about the programme.

A Roadmap of Our Summer

We have enjoyed our busiest and most productive Summer, a fitting way to celebrate our 10th anniversary! 

  • We were present at over 30 festivals and sports events!
  • Our recycling ambassadors directly engaged with close to 10,000 people about the infinite recyclability of the humble drink can. 
  • Using a range of creative experiences enabled our team to drive up recycling rates at an event, but importantly to drive positive behaviour change long after the glitter and mud are washed away.
  • A collective audience of over 1 million people had the opportunity to interact with our recycling ambassadors and their unique can recycling back packs.
  • A video spreading the Every Can Counts message was displayed on big screen.
  • New for 2019, we introduced the festival crowds to our innovative and engaging can cages and voting bins.
  • At five festivals, people were encouraged to bring drink cans to the Every Can Counts pitch in return for money-can’t-buy tee-shirts – this alone generated nearly 50,000 more cans collected for recycling by the onsite waste contractor.

Thoughts on Our Summer of Sustainable Events

Andy Ellis, Director of Lost Village Festival said:

“Every Can Counts helped us bring a sharp focus on recycling and educate our customers more than ever. It’s clear that the solution to waste is anthropic; leading by example, engaging and, quite simply, talking to people and spreading the word. Every Can Count’s strong presence in our campsite, combined with their personable and passionate team, harnessed undeniably positive results at Lost Village 2019.

Chris Latham-Warde, Every Can Counts programme manager said:

“This Summer’s programme is our biggest year so far!   We’re excited to work with long-term partners such as Festival Republic, and to have developed new partnerships with acclaimed independent festivals 2000trees in Cheltenham and Lost Village in Lincolnshire.  We are also supporting Tough Mudder at ten of their nationwide obstacle race events, as well as working with grassroots community events.

Follow us For More Can Recycling Fun!

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Freshney Place Shopping Centre extends partnership with Every Can Counts

Freshney Place Shopping Centre extends partnership with Every Can Counts 2560 1703 ChrisUK

Freshney Place shopping centre is delighted to be extending its partnership with Every Can Counts (ECC) following the popularity of the bins which were installed in 2018 as part of Freshney Place’s Green Grimsby campaign. Green Grimsby, of which ECC was an official partner, aimed to highlight the town’s reputation as the renewable energy capital of the UK and drive greater awareness of environmental concerns, including sustainability and a greener approach to a multi tenanted and community used building.

Currently there is a can crushing station and ECC bins located in the shopping centre, along with two new recycling stations, complementing the centre’s objective to improve recycling facilities for customers. There are also ECC bins in the majority of shops within the centre. It is estimated by shopping centre management that more than 500 cans are being crushed and recycled every month.

Neil Grice, Operations Manager said: “The can-crushing stations have been very popular with customers and have really helped us to achieve our environmental targets. Last year Freshney Place was awarded two major environmental accreditations including a Green Apple Environment Award and a Green Award from Investors in the Environment – their highest level of accreditation.

“Resource usage and environmental practices continue to be important operational objectives and this includes the use of ECC’s bins which encourage customers to recycle drinks cans efficiently.”

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