We can hardly believe the end of 2025 is in sight… and what an incredible year we’ve had at Every Can Counts! Think: an Infinity Room made from recycled cans, a summer filled with festival fields and so many drink cans, a brand-new mascot who literally can’t walk ten feet without causing a scene, and a global study digging into what people really think about recycling.
From iconic installations to muddy fields, we spent the year celebrating the power of the humble aluminium can – and inspiring thousands of people to make their empty cans count!
Here’s a quick look at how we made every can count in 2025…
Our Installations & Exhibitions
Our Infinity Room Lands at at Life Science Centre
We kicked off 2025 with a trip up north to launch the Every Can Counts Infinity Room at Life Science Centre in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
Made from 1,500 recycled cans and wrapped in 25 square metres of mirrors, this giant walk-in drink transports visitors into a kaleidoscope of infinite floating aluminium cans. Inside, a narrator guides guests through the journey of a drink can, while the mirrored illusion shows everyone the infinite possibilities that come from recycling your empty drink cans.
Read more about the launch here.
They See Me Rollin’ in Preston
To celebrate Earth Day, we partnered with Preston City Council and local artist, Shawn Sharpe, to create a brand-new CANvas design during the Preston Egg Roll! The event saw thousands of locals gather in Avenham Park on Easter Monday to roll their chocolate egg down the hill and enjoy workshops, music, and street theatre.
The CANvas wall – made from over 700 recycled drink cans – was painted live by Shawn Sharpe during the event. The installation aimed to inspire people to take individual action for the environment, no matter how small it may seem – as even small actions like recycling your empty cans add up to make a big difference.
The finished CANvas has now found a permanent home at Lancashire County Council’s new Eco Town environmental education centre in Farington Waste Recovery Park.
Click here to read more about the CANvas.
Our Summer at Events and Festivals
What. A. Summer.
From Latitude and Download Festival to our first appearances at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, LIDO Festival, Victorious Festival, and Radio 2 in the Park, our team of recycling ambassadors were out in force!
We brought the recycling message to 15 events across the UK, reaching more than 1,056,000 attendees. Our ambassadors were on the ground at 12 of these events, completing 7,056 questionnaires with event-goers and collecting over 70,000 empty cans along the way!
We expanded our soapbox fleet too, with Chitty Chitty Can Can now refurbished and motorised!
And, of course, 2025 was the year we introduced Canzee – our iconic mascot who became a fan favourite everywhere he went.
Want the full lowdown? Read our summer round-up blog here.
On-The-Ground Insights
Throughout the year, our ambassadors collected on-the-ground data about recycling attitudes across the UK by inviting members of the public to complete our recycling questionnaire.
In total:
- 7,056 questionnaires were completed.
- 97% of respondents said they’d learned something new about can recycling after completing our questionnaire!
What People Told Us…
How many times can aluminium be recycled?
- 63% correctly answered ‘Forever’
- 16% said 100 times
- 12% said 5 times
- 9% said 1,000 times
Where are more can recycling points needed?
- On the street – 59%
- Beaches & green spaces – 59%
- Shopping centres – 55%
- Music & sports events – 49%
- Universities & schools – 47%
- Petrol stations & transport hubs – 46%
What would help you to recycle more in your day-to-day-life?
- 57% said more recyclable packaging
- 52% said they’d like to see more recycling points
- 41% said they’d like more incentives (e.g. helping charities, better rewards, discounts etc.)
- 37% said they’d like more information on how recycling works and why it matters
Brand Partnerships
We teamed up with some incredible drink brands to amplify the recycling message and increase can collection across the UK.
- We teamed up with Red Bull in Reading city centre during Reading Festival, where anyone who brought us an empty can to recycle could charge their phone for free! We also brought our can cages to Red Bull activations at HYROX Cardiff and Tramlines Festival in Sheffield to help drive drink can recycling in high-energy environments.
- Most Wanted Wines invited us to Brighton On The Beach and Brighton Pride, where our ambassadors collected empty cans while spreading the recycling message to crowds by the seafront.
- We joined Singha Beer at 11 Magic of Thailand events across the UK with our iconic Heart Can Cage.
Canzee’s Festival Fame
2025 was also the year Canzee – our googly-eyed, 300-can mascot – became a celebrity!
- He made his festival debut at Download, where we learned he physically cannot take more than two steps without being swarmed for photos.
- Greg James, Sara Cox, Jamie Laing and Paddy McGuinness posed with him backstage at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend and Radio 2 in the Park!
- He appeared on the Kids Stage and People’s Lounge Stage at Victorious Festival, and even hyped the crowds at the front of the main stage at Radio 2 in the Park.
- He starred in his own series across our social media channels – “Canzee’s Fanzees”. The Canzee fandom? Very real.
A Recycling Survey Gone Global
To gain a deeper understanding of people’s recycling habits, we surveyed 16,000 people across 16 countries — analysing habits, knowledge gaps, and the generational divide in support for recycling schemes.
Our global study reveals a disconnect: people care deeply about the planet, but many are unsure whether current systems actually work. Younger generations, in particular, are calling for solutions that they can trust, understand, and see real, tangible results from. We delve into what drives this mindset and explore how making recycling more engaging and better understood can help close this engagement gap.
Click here to learn more!
Our 2025 Recycling Superheroes
This year’s Green Can Awards went to two brilliant winners:
Their commitment to sustainability continues to inspire us and their communities.
Think you could be next year’s winner? Apply on our website today!
2026… We’re Ready!
Thank you to everyone who chatted with us, recycled with us and helped us spread the recycling message in 2025!
We’re working on exciting plans for next year and can’t wait to be back out there inspiring people to make their cans count.
Let’s make 2026 another year where we move closer to a 100% recycling rate for drink cans.
Stay tuned and remember to keep recycling your empty drink cans!
