Crewe Clean Team receives Green Can award for recycling 200,000 aluminium cans in the last 10 years

The Crewe community group consisting of 200 environment enthusiasts, has bagged a national recycling award for collecting over 200,000 aluminium beverage cans in the last ten years.

The Crewe Clean Team, a 'committed' volunteer club, has been anointed by a Green Can Award from the non-profit organisation, Every Can Counts to uphold their positive contributions. The team carries on community litter-picking initiatives along the suburbs of Crewe and the surrounding local areas. They usually collect, separate and recycle aluminium.

Since their foundation in 2012, the team has successfully collected and recycled more than thousands of cans diverting them from being dumped in landfills. They primarily focus on aluminium since it is infinitely recyclable and can retain the original properties of the element even after going through the transition process.

The Crewe team also collects aluminium packaging materials from regional businesses, like aluminium foil from hair salons, foil trays from takeaway outlets and used beverage cans from the pubs of the area.

The chair of Crewe Clean Team, David McDonald, exclaimed: "I couldn't have predicted the scale of the scheme when we set out ten years ago, but it really has taken off. Over two hundred volunteers make up Crewe Clean Team, so it is a joint effort, and we're all thrilled with the award."

"All of our members understand the importance of recycling and have communicated this message throughout the community. It's been great to see how this has manifested in better habits within the town and a steady influx of new volunteers," he added.

"We now pick up aluminium from a number of businesses, including pubs, hairdressers and takeaways, and take it to be recycled as soon as possible. I'd like to thank them for making a special effort," he concluded with a modest call out.

McDonald was extremely thankful to all the members who contributed, either by collecting the cans or delivering them to Houston and Sons. The Crewe Clean Team chair also mentioned that much of the aluminium is shipped via wheelbarrow services, which aids the team in being 'even more environmentally friendly', but 'there is 'always more work to be done', and they are 'keen to welcome new faces'.

The collected aluminium is sent to the local scrap metal organisation, Houston and Sons Limited. The money raised from that is again invested into the collection drive for auxiliary litter-picking tools and encouraging the group to be more active in appointing new volunteers from the area.

The programme manager for Every Can Counts, Chris Latham-Warde, illustrated: "We were so impressed with Crewe Clean Team's efforts when it comes to recycling. Their volunteers have helped ensure that hundreds of thousands of drink cans have been recycled over the years – conserving valuable aluminium as these cans can be infinitely recycled and be back on shop shelves, filled, in just 60 days."

"Crewe Clean team is a stellar example of a community-led project that has made a real difference, and we hope they inspire others to make a contribution, no matter how small, to helping protect the environment," Warde specified.