Alupro-SUEZ collaborations aim to enhance aerosol recycling in the UK

Alupro, in collaboration with SUEZ,  and funded by the Aerosol Recycling Initiative (UKARI), has launched a new innovative communication program aimed at enhancing recycling rate in the United Kingdom. This digitally driven campaign mainly focuses on the effective utilisation of various measures to enhance the overall recycling initiatives for the aerosol can in the UK. 

The campaign also comprises an independent study on the type of household waste produced and thrown away by people at places like MRFs in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. 

This campaign is designed around a catchy strapline, “Shake, Spray, Squirt,” that uses various videos and digital content and is shared all across social media. This content helps educate all people on how to properly recycle empty aerosol cans and how to dispose of the cans that are partly used and contain some residual liquid within them.

Each post from social media also links to a dedicated campaign microsite that helps users evaluate the step-by-step recycling guidelines and insights into what happens to aerosol cans once collected from the kerbside. This initiative is further strengthened by signage at Household Waste Recycling Centres to strengthen public engagement through social media.

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Moreover, this campaign also focuses on the comparison of the results of the recycling behaviours of the consumers before and after the programme. This would guide all the local authorities' vehicle driving recycling initiatives at the national level. 

The executive director of Alupro and the UK Aerosols Recycling Initiative, Tom Giddings,  cited,  “Research suggests that householders are widely unsure about how best to recycle aerosols. As a result, far fewer containers are collected at the kerbside than most other forms of metal packaging. Having collated control data, we’re excited to have launched the second phase of the initiative in two UK geographies. Our campaign materials have been designed using more than a decade of experience in the development and deployment of consumer engagement programmes. We have tested the campaign with focus groups and have seen our panels respond very well to the assets we’re going to use. As such, we’re confident that the ‘shake, spray, squirt’ materials will deliver impressive results, driving up the capture rates of empty metal aerosols and the proper disposal of non-empty items. We’re looking forward to following up with subsequent sampling trials to understand the real-world impact on recycling behaviours.”

This campaign partners with a number of organisations from the aerosol value chain, including SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, Ball Aerosol Packaging, Trivium Packaging, the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA), packaging compliance scheme Ecosurety, consumer brand Henkel, valve manufacturer LINDAL Group, waste company CleanEco, aerosol producer Moravia Cans and processors of reclaimed metal Tandom Metallurgical Group Ltd and Tata Steel UK.

Also Read: Think you know recycling? Alupro’s playful campaign promotes aluminium recycling awareness