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Giant Polar Bear Installation Prowls Bristol City Centre

Giant Polar Bear Installation Prowls Bristol City Centre 2560 1703 Phoebe Kelly

As part of our fourth annual International Recycling Tour, a giant polar bear installation made of recycled aluminium cans appeared on Bristol’s Centre Promenade on June 5th to mark World Environment Day!

Made from 2,000 cans, the PixelCan artwork was created to shine a light on species which are currently endangered or vulnerable due to ecosystem degradation.

Alongside the stunning art piece, our dedicated ambassadors were also at the promenade, embodying our mission to promote the recycling of drink cans consumed outside the home and inviting the public to recycle their empty cans on the go.

Our team of ambassadors worked hard to raise awareness about the importance of recycling drink cans while collecting cans in their recycling backpacks.

The International Recycling Tour

The polar bear installation forms part of the fourth edition of our annual International Recycling Tour, which also launched on World Environment Day following new data revealing that a record 10.7 billion cans were recycled in the UK in 2023.

The tour aims to highlight the importance of drink can recycling in saving valuable resources and mitigating climate change.

This year, the tour has made a bold visual statement with its PixelCan artworks of endangered animals including a sea turtle, tiger, and chimpanzee, alongside the polar bear in Bristol.

Encouraging individuals across the globe to become #GenerationRestoration, the initiative is taking place simultaneously in 16 cities including Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Click here to learn more about the International Recycling Tour!  

David Van Heuverswyn, Director of Every Can Counts Global, said: “Our vision is to achieve 100% global drink can recycling! Every can recycled can be back on the shelf in 60 days, and campaigns like the International Recycling Tour bring us one step closer to this vision, demonstrating the power of collective action in creating a truly circular economy for the benefit of both people and nature.

“Here in Bristol, we’re proud to celebrate our tour for the first time with a unique polar bear PixelCan installation to tie into World Environment Day.”

Every Can Counts is a unique partnership formed between drink can manufacturers, drink can fillers and the wider recycling industry, all with the goal of reaching a 100% recycling rate for drink cans.

The programme provides free recycling support to businesses and organisations throughout Ireland and around the globe, reaching 183.5 million people worldwide in 2023 alone and helping recycle over 55 million drink cans through event activations and partnerships.

Looking Back on a CANtastic Summer of Recycling Fun!

Looking Back on a CANtastic Summer of Recycling Fun! 2560 1920 Phoebe Kelly

Ah the hazy memories of summer recycling fun…

From rocking out with metalheads at Download Festival, to discovering the mysteries of Lost Village Festival, we have spread the recycling word far and wide this summer and met some incredible people along the way. Watch the video below to see us rock out at our first festival of the season:

We collected cans trackside at the Formula 1 and MotoGP races at Silverstone and found ourselves on the track itself at the Red Bull Soapbox Race! At music festivals we offered t-shirts and keyrings made from recycled cans as recycling rewards and we decorated festival goers (and sometimes ourselves) in recycling themed temporary tattoos.

And let’s not forget about our iconic can cages! Don’t be mistaken, those beautiful cages don’t stay spotless by themselves. Behind the scenes our team have been emptying those cages and bagging up your cans, ready to be taken away and recycled.

But now, after an unforgettable summer of can recycling fun, we’re saying goodbye to festival life for another year. Will we miss emptying those juicy cages? Probably not. But will we miss seeing you guys proactively recycling your cans and filling them up every day? Absolutely!

Here’s a taste of the recycling fun that we’ve had this summer:

Download Festival:
The one where we created the iconic Download Dog PixelCan and everyone flocked to our gazebo to claim their recycling rewards.

Stendhal Festival:
Our first one in Northern Ireland, a.k.a the one in the rain… But that didn’t stop our team from getting out and about and filling up their recycling backpacks!

Formula 1 British Grand Prix:
The one with the biggest crowd! With over 400,000 people attending across the weekend, our team were never short of people to chat to.

Red Bull Soapbox Race:
The one where we took to the racetrack and our drivers risked their lives in the name of can recycling! Click here to read more about our Soapbox experience.

2000trees Festival:
The one where we slept to the sound of heavy metal every night and met some incredible recycling heroes.

Latitude Festival:
The one where our team proved themselves by conquering the dust and the heat to spread the recycling word around the campsites and main arena.  

MotoGP British Grand Prix:
The one where our team roamed the circuit and spread the word that recycled cans might one day end up as an aluminium component in a motorbike!  

Wilderness Festival:
The boutique one where our team went into the wilderness to seek out those who were willing to embrace their wild side and recycle their cans in style.  

Boomtown Festival:
The one where you guys brought the fun to us in the blazing heat (and huddled under our gazebo to escape the sun).

Boardmasters Festival:
The one on the beach… We’re still finding sand in our can recycling backpacks to this day!

Big Feastival:
The one where we partnered with Canned Wine Co. to bring our can cages and a beautiful new-look design for our recycling backpacks to The Cotswolds.

Lost Village Festival:
The one where nothing was as it seemed. Our final festival and a time to say goodbye to a summer of can recycling fun! Watch the video below to see us in action at our final festival of the season:

Thank you to everyone who chatted, danced, laughed and recycled with our team. And thanks to all the festivals and events who have welcomed us on site this summer!

We hope our team left you all with some lasting memories so that when you finish a drink from an aluminium can, you’ll remember to pop it in the recycling bin wherever you are.

Making A Sustainable Platinum Jubilee with Every Can Counts

Making A Sustainable Platinum Jubilee with Every Can Counts 2508 1672 ChrisUK

We partnered with The Platinum Jubilee Pageant and Royal Parks to encourage people to recycle their empty drink cans during the Jubilee weekend. We brought two art installations and a team of recycling ambassadors to St James’s Park in London, right at the heart of the celebrations!

A Jubilee-themed wall of art created from 2,000 recycled cans was on display beside The Mall, in a location which proved to be a popular picnic spot thanks to the presence of a large screen broadcasting the Jubilee events. The iconic #EveryCanCounts Rainbow, created from over 2,500 recycled cans, was also on display near Horse Guard’s Parade, where it’s Instagram appeal was enhanced by a leafy green backdrop.

On the Saturday and Sunday our team of recycling ambassadors circulated through the crowds collecting empty cans and conducting recycling surveys. 6 Platinum Jubilee Pageant volunteers joined our team on the Sunday, helping us to collect more cans and spread our message even further.

This event was part of the Every Can Counts International Recycling Tour, which took place on the 3rd, 4th and 5th June. More than 100 recycling ambassadors roamed parks, cities, and beaches in 17 countries.

Every Can Counts teams were active in the following countries: Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Their mission? To encourage people to keep public outdoor spaces clean and recycle their drink cans wherever they are.

The tour was timed to coincide with World Environment Day on 5th June.

David van Heuverswyn, Director of Every Can Counts Europe, said: “Drink cans recycle forever. This is the main message of our tour and the reason why we are working to inspire behaviour change and help reach 100% can recycling in Europe and beyond. This ambitious target can only be reached if consumers, brands, event organisers and local communities join forces to recycle every drink can and build together a more sustainable planet.”

Thank you to everyone who recycled with us last weekend, whether in St James’s Park during the Jubilee celebrations or in one of the other 17 countries where Every Can Counts activities were taking place. Together we CAN make a difference!

Every Can Counts Recycling Ambassadors and Platinum Jubilee Pageant Volunteers pose by the #EveryCanCounts Rainbow.