We brought a giant art installation to Trafford Centre in Manchester to highlight the importance of recycling your empty drink cans this Recycle Week.
Taking Trafford Centre to Infinity… and Beyond!
From the shiny, molten aluminium to the brightly coloured, manufactured drink cans, the #EveryCanCounts Infinity Sculpture is designed to illustrate the life cycle of a drink can. The art installation is made from more than 1,200 recycled drink cans and has been launched outside the Trafford Centre in Manchester to raise awareness that aluminium can be recycled time and time again.
Shoppers and centre visitors will be able to see the can-based artwork on display by the Great Hall Entrance at Trafford Centre until Sunday, 20th September.
This is the first time the Infinity Sculpture has been showcased in Manchester, where it will act as a physical reminder of the importance of recycling to the community.
How to Get Involved this Recycle Week
On Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September, visitors wanting to learn more about recycling can head down to the installation to meet our ‘canny mascot’, Canzee, and our team of recycling ambassadors.
Canzee will be adorned head to toe with more than 400 recycled drink cans, serving as a vibrant reminder that everyone should recycle their empty drink cans. Our ambassadors will also be on hand to chat with visitors and spread the recycling message.
We’re also giving Mancunians a chance to be a part of the next Every Can Counts installation! The cans we collect at Trafford Centre during Recycle Week will be taken away and transformed into a brand-new artwork, which will be unveiled in the Trafford Centre in 2027. So stay tuned for the launch of our exciting new installation next year.
We’re also giving people the chance to win a £200 Trafford Centre gift card! Anyone who shares a photo of our Infinity Sculpture on social media and tags our channels will be automatically entered into our giveaway. Click here to see full terms and conditions.
What is Recycle Week?
Recycle Week is an annual celebration of recycling that aims to unite brands, retailers, waste management companies, trade associations, governments and the media in achieving a common goal: encouraging the public across the UK to recycle the right things more often.
Hosted by the recycling charity WRAP, Recycle Week 2026 runs from 14-20 September and will encourage people to do the right thing with their recyclable materials. Learn more about Recycle Week.
Here at Every Can Counts, we want to shine a spotlight on the humble drink can and show people that small acts (like recycling their empty cans) add up to make a big difference for the planet!
So… Why Should We Recycle Our Empty Cans?
We’re glad you asked! Every drink can you recycle helps to reduce emissions, saves energy, and prevents valuable resources from ending up in landfill. We have a whole page dedicated to explaing the drink can recycling process and the benefits of recycling your drink cans. But, in case you need a crash course, here are some of the key benefits of recycling your empty cans that we think are pretty impressive:
- The infinite recyclability of aluminium means a drink can has the potential to be recycled over and over again, with no loss of quality.
- Your empty drink cans could go through the recycling process and be back on the shop shelf as brand-new cans in as little as 60 days.
- By recycling aluminium, we can save 95% of the energy needed to produce a new can from raw materials, which is vital in preserving natural resources.
Trafford Centre’s Partnership with Every Can Counts
Chris Latham-Warde, Programme Manager at Every Can Counts, said: “The Trafford Centre is the perfect place to unveil our Infinity Sculpture for Recycle Week. With so many visitors passing through, we have a real opportunity to show people what responsible recycling looks like in action and raise awareness of aluminium’s circular potential.
“Every can collected for recycling has a future. Each one is crushed and melted down, then reformed into brand-new cans to be filled, enjoyed and recycled all over again. It’s a cycle that can happen in as little as 60 days, which is genuinely remarkable when you think about it.”
Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre, said: “We’re proud to welcome Every Can Counts to Trafford Centre for Recycle Week. The Infinity Sculpture is a powerful visual reminder that small actions can make a big difference, and we’re delighted to give our guests the opportunity to learn more about recycling while supporting a more sustainable future.”
